Elliott Investment Management
Elliott Investment Management L.P. is an American investment management firm. It is also one of the largest activist funds in the world.
It is the management affiliate of American hedge funds Elliott Associates L.P. and Elliott International Limited. The Elliott Corporation was founded by Paul Singer, who is co-CEO, president, and co-chief investment officer.
Originally founded in New York City, the firm moved its headquarters to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2020.
Overview
Singer created Elliott Associates in January 1977, starting with $1.3 million from friends and family and choosing the Elliott brand as it is his middle name. In its earliest years, the firm focused on convertible arbitrage. Since the 1987 stock market crash and early 1990s recession, however, the firm has transitioned into a multi-strategy hedge fund. Elliott Associates manages $8.6 billion and is Elliott Management's primary domestic fund.The firm is currently closed to new investors. As of mid-2024, Elliott counted 570 employees in New York City, London, Tokyo and Hong Kong and is one of the oldest hedge funds under continuous management.
In a November 2014 investment letter, Elliott described optimism about U.S. growth as unwarranted. "Nobody can predict how long governments can get away with fake growth, fake money, fake jobs, fake financial stability, fake inflation numbers and fake income growth," Elliott wrote. "When confidence is lost, that loss can be severe, sudden and simultaneous across a number of markets and sectors."
In 2015, Institutional Investor/Alpha magazine gave Elliott an A grade and the #9 ranking among hedge funds worldwide.
A 2018 New Yorker profile of Elliott and Singer quoted Jonathan S. Bush, the CEO of an Elliott target company, as saying that when "he began to research Elliott online, the experience was like 'Googling this thing on your arm and it says, "You're going to die."'"
Equity partners
Elliott has seven equity partners. Paul Singer and Jonathan Pollock are co-chief investment officers; Gordon Singer, Paul Singer's son, manages Elliott's London office. Former senior portfolio manager Steven Kasoff, whose retirement was announced in April 2020, was named an equity partner in January 2015. Steve Cohen, Dave Miller, Jesse Cohn and Zion Shohet are also listed as equity partners at the firm, as of 2020Affiliates and units
- Hambledon, Inc. is a Cayman Islands corporation controlled by Singer.
- NML Capital is a subsidiary of Elliott Management.
- Kensington International Ltd. is a subsidiary of Elliott Management.
- Maidenhead LLC and Warrington LLC are US entities that are controlled by Singer.
- Elliott Advisors Ltd. is "a London-based advisor to Elliott."
- Elliott Advisors Limited is "the Hong Kong arm of Elliott Management."
- Manchester Securities Corporation.
- Amber Energy, owner of Citgo
Investments
Early activities
Early in its history, Elliott focused on convertible arbitrage, refocusing primarily on distressed debt investing following the 1987 stock market crash and early 1990s recession. Elliott is known for restructuring such U.S. firms as Trans World Airlines, MCI, WorldCom, and Enron as well as overseas companies including Telecom Italia SpA and Elektrim.Elliott's February 2020 purchase of Twitter stock was at a per share price of about $36. Elliott exited Twitter in June 2022 shortly after Elon Musk made his tender offer, when the share price was dynamic in the mid to high $45–$50 range, giving Elliott a gain over two years of approximately 33% on the investment.
Wella AG
In 2003, Elliott believed Procter & Gamble was not offering a fair price to all preferred shareholders for the German hair products company Wella AG. Elliott joined other funds in opposing the deal, including Germany's second-largest fund manager, Deka Investments. After several years of legal and shareholder battles, P&G raised its offer for Wella AG for all preferred shareholders. According to the Börsen-Zeitung, Elliott said its goal was to "protect the rights of minority shareholders."Shopko
In April 2005, the Wisconsin-based retail chain Shopko announced that it had agreed to be acquired for approximately $1 billion by a private equity firm at a price of $24 per share. This and a subsequent offer at $25 were rejected, according to the Milwaukee Business Journal, "after several dissident shareholders threatened to vote down the transaction, claiming the bid was too low." Elliott joined other hedge funds in opposing the sale because it felt the price was too low and because it had concerns about conflicts of interest on the board. Elliott eventually participated in purchasing ShopKo at $29 per share.Adecco
The human resource consulting company Adecco announced in January 2006 it had secured a 35 percent stake in DIS AG, at a price of €54.5 per share, making an offer at that price for all shares. The company also announced that the DIS CEO and CFO had signed lucrative management agreements that eventually would make them CEO and CFO, respectively, of Adecco. Adecco attempted to de-list DIS but was blocked in court by a number of hedge funds, including Elliott. The funds also raised concerns about conflict of interest by the CEO and CFO. Eventually Adecco offered €113 per share, which was accepted.Novell
In March 2010, Elliott bid $5.75 per share for software company Novell. Although Novell rejected the offer, Elliott "welcomed" the decision to sell the company.Vinashin
In December 2011, it was reported that Elliott was suing the Vietnamese shipbuilding firm Vinashin in a British court. The company had defaulted a year earlier on a $600 million loan backed by the Vietnamese government, then offered to pay bondholders 35 cents on the dollar. Elliott sued for the full amount. In April 2012 Elliott dropped the case.Compuware
It was reported in December 2012 that Elliott, which already had an 8% stake in Compuware, had offered to buy the company for $11 a share in cash.Hess Corporation
In late 2012, Elliott criticized the oil company Hess for its use of capital and for being "distracted" from oil exploration and production by other activities. In January 2013, Elliott called on Hess to sell certain assets and asked Hess investors to vote for five new directors as part of an effort to reconfigure the oil firm and thus boost its share price. "Buried within Hess Corp. is one of the premier U.S. resource play-focused companies," Elliott wrote.In March, Hess announced that it was acting on some of Elliott's suggestions, but Elliott said that Hess's changes fell far short of what was needed. In April, it was reported that Hess would close its London office on Elliott's advice. Hess has been a "top pick" for Elliott since 2013. As of the fourth quarter of 2014, Elliott owned 17.8 million shares of Hess, worth $1.3 billion, making it Elliott's largest holding.
Sanko Steamship
In late 2013 Elliott took control of the bankrupt Japanese shipowner Sanko and proceeded to close the majority of the overseas offices of that Company. Elliott eventually asset stripped the company's overseas properties and any equity left in the Companies vessels. On 1 April 2012 Sanko had either managed or owned a fleet of 185 ships, which included 46 tankers and 27 dry bulk carriers. By early 2019 this had been reduced to just 5 bulk carriers. In March 2024 it was announced that Sanko would sell their last vessel and exit shipowning after 90 years of existence.Interpublic Group
In summer 2014, Elliott disclosed a 6.7% stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, an advertising agency holding company, and "a person briefed on the matter said Elliott planned to call on the company to sell itself to one of its competitors".Pernod Ricard
In December 2018, Elliott purchased a 2.5% stake in Pernod Ricard.Sigfox
Elliott is one of several firms that, according to a February 2015 report, have invested in the Sigfox cellular network, which serves France, Spain, the UK, and the Netherlands.Solar projects in UK
In February 2015, the Telegraph reported that Elliott Management's UK arm, Elliott Advisors Limited, had put money into half a dozen unnamed solar-power projects in that country, and that it had "hedged its bets by taking out short positions in five other renewable energy funds listed on the London stock market."Comcast
In September 2015, Elliott purchased a 1,940,642-share stake in Comcast, a Philadelphia-based mass media company, for an average price of $58.68 a share. This transaction had a 1.65% impact on Elliott's portfolio.CDK Global LLC
Elliott acquired a 4% stake in CDK Global in May 2015. As of September 2016, it held a 5.4% stake in the company and is the third-largest shareholder.On 4 May 2016, Elliott sent a letter to CDK Board of Directors outlining steps they felt were required in order to meet projected ROI and margins. Quoting "a plan for CDK to optimize its business operations and drive a meaningful improvement in shareholder value."
On 8 June 2016, Elliott sent a letter to CDK Board of Directors advising that "CDK adopt the steps in the Value-Maximizing Plan without delay" due to share-holder support of the plan in the 4 May letter.