NEW YORK (Reuters) – Hedge fund Irenic Capital Management on Tuesday urged Kinaxis to see who may want to buy the Canadian software company and warned its board against making “reactive decisions” and taking “half measures.”
The Board “should initiate a full strategic review including soliciting interest for a sale for the whole company,” Irenic said in a statement, echoing other investors’ private and public calls for the company to put itself up for sale.
Irenic, run by former Elliott Investment Management and Indaba Capital Management executives Adam Katz and Andy Dodge, called Kinaxis a “world-class software asset” that needs to find a new chief executive officer and head of sales and also needs to review interest in the company from potential financial and strategic buyers.
Earlier on Tuesday the company said it had hired Goldman Sachs. But it also said the board “strongly believes that execution of its strategic plan is the best path to maximize shareholder value.” The company did not immediately respond to Irenic’s comments.
Irenic said the board cannot make decisions about the “best path forward without first considering alternative paths,” Irenic said expressing concern the board is not fully examining potential interest in the company.
Last week investment firm Daventry Group publicly urged Kinaxis to put itself up for sale, calling it a high quality asset that many buyers would pay a “healthy premium” to own.
(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by David Gregorio)