Harvest Capital Disappointed with Green Dot’s Decision to Add Three New Directors to Board
In fresh filing with the SEC, Joseph A. Jolson’s Harvest Capital Strategies LLC revealed a freshly-issued statement that discusses Green Dot Corporation (NYSE:GDOT)’s appointment of three new directors and the expansion of the company’s Board. In a separate proxy statement filed with the SEC earlier this week, Harvest Capital, which currently owns 4.60 million shares of the provider of reloadable prepaid debit card (9.2% of the company’s outstanding common stock), urged Green Dot’s shareholders to vote for the election of its three nominees to the Board at the company’s upcoming annual meeting of shareholders.
However, the company announced on Monday the appointment of three new independent directors to the Board and the increase of the size of the Board to ten seats from eight seats, as one non-independent director stepped down. In the aforementioned statement, Mr. Jolson’s Harvest Capital voiced their discontent with the company’s decision to appoint the three directors without a shareholder vote amid an ongoing proxy contest. Moreover, the San Francisco-based investment firm said that the increase in the Board size will most likely diminish the influence of Harvest-nominated directors should they be elected by shareholders at the company’s annual meeting of shareholders that is set to take place in roughly six weeks. In previous statements and SEC filings, Harvest Capital Strategies claimed that Green Dot Corporation (NYSE:GDOT) could nearly double its earnings per share within three years as long as the company implements a set of “self-help” initiatives proposed by the hedge fund. San Francisco-based Harvest says that the appointment of three “unelected” directors and the increase in the Board size “appears to be nothing more than a thinly-veiled attempt by Green Dot to entrench management and the Board, while protecting the status quo”, but “shareholders will have an opportunity to express their dissatisfaction at the 2016 Annual Meeting”. Shares of Green Dot have gained 32% since the beginning of 2016, with the San Francisco-based investment firm serving as a strong catalyst. A total of 12 hedge funds from our system were invested in the company at the end of the December quarter, accumulating 11% of outstanding common stock. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Advisors LLC owns 1.46 million shares of Green Dot Corporation (NYSE:GDOT) as of December 31.
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Billionaire John Paulson Cuts Stake in NovaGold Resources
According to a Form 4 filing with the SEC, John Paulson’s Paulson & Co. unloaded 1.13 million shares of NovaGold Resources Inc. (USA) (NYSEMKT:NG) on Monday at an average price of $6.15 per share, cutting its ownership to 31.82 million shares. The freshly-trimmed stake accounts for 9.95% of the company’s total number of outstanding shares. The billionaire Paulson’s hedge fund sold an additional 2.56 million shares last week at an average price of $5.41 per share.
NovaGold operates in the mining industry and focuses on the exploration and development of gold and copper mineral properties. However, investors should note that the company has no operations just yet, with its primary assets involving a 50% interest in the Donlin Gold project in Alaska and a 50% interest in the Galore Creek project in Canada. The Donlin Gold project is owned and operated by limited liability company Donlin Gold LLC, in which Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX) and NovaGold each own a 50% interest. NovaGold’s share of capital spending associated with this project is expected to reach $9 million for 2016. Much of this capital will be channeled into advancing the permitting process, as various federal and state government permits and approvals need to be received before the Donlin Gold project can start construction, and support the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process. NovaGold Resources Inc. (USA) (NYSEMKT:NG) has seen its market value gain 40% since the beginning of 2016, which shows that the company’s projects keep moving forward. There were 15 money managers tracked by Insider Monkey with long positions in NovaGold on December 31, who hoarded up nearly 23% of the company’s shares. Seth Klarman’s Baupost Group was the owner of 18.98 million shares of NovaGold Resources Inc. (USA) (NYSEMKT:NG) at the end of 2015.
