Activist investor to push for pro-sale board at Kindred

Corvex Management is pushing Kindred to find a buyer.

Sweden.- The activist investor Corvex Management has asked to have a say in the nomination of Kindred Group’s next board of directors. The move comes as Corvex pushes for a sale after building up a 15 per cent stake in the online gambling operator to become its largest shareholder.

Kindred is believed to have contacted gaming operators and private equity businesses to seek a potential buyer but the search has yet to bear any fruit. Corvex now reportedly wants to nominate a pro-sale board to push the process forwards.

The New York hedge fund announced in April that it had built up a 10 per cent stake in Kindred. It’s since increased that to 15 per cent, overtaking The Capital Group as the largest shareholder. 

Corvex founder Keith Meister said: “As Kindred’s largest shareholder, we intend to formally express our interest in participating in the nomination committee, which we understand will be formed at or shortly after the end of August.

“We look forward to working on the newly comprised nomination committee with representatives of Kindred’s other largest shareholders and Kindred chairman Evert Carlsson. In our view, the committee should seek to nominate directors with a mandate to maximise long-term, risk-adjusted value for all Kindred shareholders.”

He added: “We are excited to be a significant investor in the company and believe that Kindred is worth substantially more than the value implied by the current trading price for Kindred’s shares.

“As stated in our 4 May press release, we continue to believe Kindred should study all potential strategic alternatives, including a sale of the company. A board that is fully informed and aligned with shareholder interests will be best positioned to weigh potential alternatives against the company’s status quo business plan.”

In the last few months, Kindred has received a Dutch online gaming licence but it also took the decision to leave the German market. Meanwhile, in its native Sweden, Kindred is being sued by the fashion designer and entrepreneur Per Holknekt, who claims the company fuelled his gambling addiction.