Svea Herbst-Bayliss
(Reuters) – A former partner at ValueAct Capital Management, one of the most prominent activist investment firms on Wall Street, will launch his own firm, according to people familiar with the matter, in one of the most high-profile launches for an activist firm in recent years.
Dylan Haggart, who oversaw ValueAct’s investments in private equity firm KKR, investment bank Morgan Stanley and media company The New York Times, and also sits on the boards of financial technology company Fiserv (NYSE:) and data storage company Seagate Technology, formed The new firm is called Fivespan Partners, the people said.
Haggart left ValueAct last year after 10 years at the San Francisco-based investment firm.
Fivespan, named after an iconic bridge in Haggart’s hometown near Ottawa, Canada, is expected to begin investing in the second half of 2024 and will be based in San Francisco, said the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly about the private firm’s activities. plans.
The company plans to focus on mid-market companies with a chance to grow and work with management teams and boards to help them improve operations and capital structure to make them more valuable, the people said.
Haggart did not return a call for comment.
The new launch is one of the most prominent in the activist investor space since Jeffrey Ubben, founder of ValueAct, founded Inclusive Capital Partners four years ago and Ed Garden left Trian Investment Management last year to invest his personal fortune through Garden Investments .
Fivespan will launch at a time when activists are finding new favor with investors, as many have helped drive up share prices by working with management to improve companies’ performance. Investors now reward companies that transform to become more profitable, allocate capital correctly and focus on what matters to shareholders.
The average activist investor gained 18% last year, with some firms reporting gains of double that, while the broader market rose more than 24%, according to Hedge Fund Research.
After a decade at ValueAct, Haggart embodies the hallmarks of his old firm: staying out of the spotlight and trying to work collaboratively with management, people who know him say. He rarely speaks at industry conferences or gives interviews, but is always available to help target company executives obtain advice and guidance, they added.
The new firm plans to build a portfolio of six to 10 investments at a time, sources said.
Sarah Coyne, who worked with Haggart as a partner at ValueAct and also left in 2023, will become managing partner at Fivespan, sources said.
The investment team will be joined by two more former ValueAct employees, Marguerite Krivitzky and Andrew Fraga, as well as Chris Kelly, formerly of Voyager Global Management.
Carly Pollock, a veteran hedge fund industry executive, will become the new firm’s chief operating officer, chief financial officer and chief compliance officer, sources said.