UPDATED 18:35 EDT / MARCH 01 2020

APPS

Elliott Management is reportedly trying to oust Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey

Activist investor firm Elliott Management Corp. is reportedly planning to oust Twitter Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey (pictured) after taking a “sizable stake” in the social media company.

Bloomberg, which first reported the news late Friday, said Elliott had plans to “push for changes at the social media company.”

The $40 billion hedge fund has reportedly nominated four people as new directors of Twitter’s executive board of directors. That’s telling because there are only three seats up for grabs, though Elliott said it would also seek to fill “any other vacancies that may arise” with one of its candidates.

As a result, it’s believed that Dorsey, who holds a seat on the board himself, could be the first person on the chopping block. Bloomberg said Elliott’s founder Paul Singer reportedly objects to Dorsey remaining as Twitter chief while he continues to divide his attention between it and Square Inc., the online payments company he also runs. Dorsey has also recently floated the idea of moving to Africa, which would presumably make running Twitter a bit more complicated.

Elliott has a long history of agitating for change at the companies it invests in, as it has done at AT&T Inc., eBay Inc. and Marathon Petroleum Corp. Elliott was also one of the main instigators of Dell Technologies Inc.’s massive $67 billion acquisition of EMC Corp. in 2017.

Elliott may have an easier time ousting Dorsey, though, as he only holds a 2% stake in the company, Bloomberg said.

Elliott can also make a strong argument to Twitter’s shareholders that the company is underperforming, analysts said. Holger Mueller, a vice president and principal analyst at Constellation Research Inc., told SiliconANGLE that Twitter needs to deliver better growth and find a way to profitability.

“The double duty of Dorsey at Twitter and Square is a potential concern too,” Mueller said. “But if all goes well this Elliott activity may well be the jolt Twitter needs, and that will be good for both its users and its shareholders.”

News of Elliott’s involvement in Twitter helped push up the company’s share price late Friday, at a time when the market continues to slide over fears of the coronavirus.

A spokesperson for Twitter declined to comment on the Bloomberg report.

Photo: JD Lasica/Flickr

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