AT&T rallied Monday after Elliott Management announced it owns $3.2 billion in the underperforming telecom giant’s stock and said in a letter that it hopes to help the company trim unneeded assets.
According to CNBC, the hedge fund said it sent a letter to the company’s board and argued for ways AT&T can “improve its business and realize a historic increase in value.”
The activist investor said its AT&T stock purchase is one of the firm’s largest investments ever. Elliott also believes that AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson’s exit is on the table and thinks that the telecom company will engage and settle soon, people familiar with the situation told CNBC.
In response to the hedge fund’s letter, AT&T said its management team and Board of Directors “maintain a regular and open dialogue with shareholders and will review Elliott Management’s perspectives in the context of the company’s business strategy.”
“We look forward to engaging with Elliott. Indeed, many of the actions outlined are ones we are already executing today,” AT&T said in a statement. “AT&T’s Board and management team firmly believe that the focused and successful execution of our strategy is the best path forward to create long-term value for shareholders.”
But Elliott’s new stake, as well as its doubts about Time Warner, drew praise from President Donald Trump, a longtime critic of the CNN parent.
The hedge fund is run by Paul Singer, who supported Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in the 2016 election but later contributed to Trump's inauguration.Great news that an activist investor is now involved with AT&T. As the owner of VERY LOW RATINGS @CNN, perhaps they will now put a stop to all of the Fake News emanating from its non-credible “anchors.” Also, I hear that, because of its bad ratings, it is losing a fortune.....— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 9, 2019
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