Billionaire Singer Lifts Stake in Cabelas Inc. (CAB), Deerfield Bets on Beloranib, Plus Two Other Moves

In a newly-amended 13D filing, Ashe Capital Management LP, co-founded by William Crowley, reported owning 10.03 million shares of Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ALSN), which represent 5.9% of the company’s outstanding shares. This represents an increase from the stake of 9.36 million shares revealed through the fund’s initial 13D filing on the company at the end of October 2015. Most importantly, William Crowley held discussions with Allison’s Chairman at the end of October, requesting the Chairman to “convey to the Board of the Reporting Persons’ request that Mr. Crowley, Co-founder and CEO of Ashe, be appointed to the Board”. However, the latest filing reveals that the company’s Board denied the request and refused to consider the nomination of Ashe’s co-founder for election to the Board. Hence, the investment firm “submitted a notice of intent to nominate Mr. Crowley for election as a director at the 2016 annual meeting of stockholders”, but also revealed three additional proposals that it will make at the meeting, which includes the declassification of the Board. Each director will be up for election annually should that proposal be implemented.

The shares of the manufacturer of transmissions for commercial vehicles and provider of hybrid-propulsion systems for city buses are down by 30% over the past 12 months. Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ALSN) reported net sales of $1.99 billion for 2015, down from $2.13 billion reported a year earlier. At the same time, the company’s management anticipates its 2016 net sales to decline in the range of 6.5% to 9.5%, citing softening conditions in the North America On-Highway end market. James A. Star’s Longview Asset Management LLC initiated an 8.78 million-share position in Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ALSN) during the final quarter of 2015.

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