Billionaire Activist Singer Appeals for Modernizing Samsung
- His Elliott Management wants electronics unit to split in two
- Hedge fund is betting Samsung’s heir apparent will bite
Samsung Targeted by Activist Investors
Billionaire activist Paul Elliott Singer is betting Samsung Electronics Co.’s heir apparent is so keen to modernize his family’s empire without losing control that he’ll embrace a complex proposal to break up the company, say people familiar with the matter.
Singer’s Elliott Management Corp. -- through affiliates Blake Capital LLC and Potter Capital LLC -- proposed that Samsung separate into an operating company and a holding company, dual-list the former on a U.S. exchange, pay shareholders a special dividend of 30 trillion Korean won ($27 billion) and improve governance by adding three independent board members. Elliott is arguing that the new plan would make Samsung Electronics’ business more transparent, simplify the ownership structure and provide tax benefits, all of which would push up the stock. Shares surged 4.5 percent to a record high close.