- Activist investor company Trian Fund Management LP has bought a stake in Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) valued at about $870 million
Activist investor company Trian Fund Management LP has bought a stake in Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) valued at about $870 million, which amounts to about an 0.4% ownership. This was revealed in a filing with the U.S. SEC. Trian believes that shares of Comcast are undervalued.
“We have recently begun what we believe are constructive discussions with Comcast’s management team and look forward to continuing those discussions,” said a Trian spokesperson in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
Generally what happens when Trian makes a large investment in a large company is that it pushes for changes. Trian invested in Proctor & Gamble as part of a proxy last year and Nelson Peltz, a founding partner of the investment firm was given a board seat.
A similar situation happened in 2017 when Trian invested in General Electric. Trian founding partner Ed Garden gained a board seat at GE and pushed for strategic changes.
Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts has a third of the voting rights at Comcast so Trian may run into some issues trying to influence the company.
While Comcast’s broadband operations have been thriving, its media operations have been running into issues. Comcast owns NBCUniversal and Sky — which have been hard during the pandemic due to a slump in ad sales, production stalls, and the shutting down of movie theaters.
