An increase to its position in B/E Aerospace Inc (NASDAQ:BEAV) was Corvex Capital’s most bullish move during the fourth quarter. The fund added 5.76 million shares to its position during the quarter, a 758% increase, with the increased holding now valued at $398.13 million. B/E Aerospace Inc (NASDAQ:BEAV), which also represents the top pick of John Orrico’s Water Island Capital, completed the spin-off of KLX Inc (NASDAQ:KLXI) (in which Meister now has a small position of 70,900 shares) in the middle of December. KLX was the logistics and services side of B/E Aerospace Inc (NASDAQ:BEAV)’s business, and the move was expected to create more shareholder value. Shares of B/E Aerospace are up by 10.50% since the split, while the shares of the spun-off company have slid by 12.79% since its inception.
Corvex also has a large new stake in Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE:LVLT), though the new position is not the result of purchases, but rather a conversion of TW Telecom Inc. (NASDAQ:TWTC) stock into Level 3 stock, after the merger of the two companies during the fourth quarter. The sale of TW Telecom paid shareholders of that company $10.00 in cash, and with 0.7 shares of Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE:LVLT) stock per each share of TW Telecom owned at the closing of the deal, which occurred at the end of October.
Corvex held 7.66 million shares of TW Telecom at the end of the third quarter, which would have been converted into 5.36 million shares of Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE:LVLT). At the end of 2014, Corvex reported ownership of 4.49 million shares of Level 3 valued at $221.69 million at the end of the year. Billionaire Mason Hawkins, who was a major shareholder of TW Telecom before the merger is now one of the top shareholders of Level 3, with ownership of 54.74 million shares as at the end of the 2014.
A new position in Platform Specialty Products Corp (NYSE:PAH) was another bullish move by Meister in the fourth quarter, with it consisting of 6.39 million shares valued at $148.30 million. Platform Specialty Products Corp (NYSE:PAH), a provider of specialty chemical products and related services, completed the purchase of Arysta LifeScience Limited for $3.51 billion in the middle of February. The purchase was the third deal in the crop protection segment made by Platform in less than half a year, as it also bought Agriphar on October 1 and Chemtura AgroSolutions on November 3. Famed activist investor Bill Ackman has been an investor of Platform Specialty Products Corp (NYSE:PAH) since the company’s IPO in early 2014, and owned 42.78 million shares at the end of last year. while the stock is up 80.14% since its IPO.
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