Keith Meister, Corvex Approve Arbitration Panel Ruling Regarding CommonWealth REIT

Keith Meister’s Corvex Capital reported, in a newly amended filing with the SEC, stated that according to a ruling by the arbitration panel Corvex and Related Fund Management will have to nominate a new independent board of trustees for CommonWealth REIT (NYSE:CWH).

“The Arbitration Panel’s decision is a tremendous victory for shareholder democracy and for all CommonWealth shareholders. With the path cleared by the Panel’s decision, we firmly believe it is a foregone conclusion that shareholders will take back CommonWealth. We are heartened by the previous endorsement of the holders of more than 70% of the outstanding shares who voted to remove the entire board, as well as by ISS and Glass Lewis,” Keith Meister and Jeff T. Blau of Related stated in a press release.

The fund also reiterated that it holds 11.4 million shares in the company, from around 5.7 million disclosed in its latest 13F. The position is activist by nature, and entitles Corvex to holding 9.6% of CommonWealth’s common shares of beneficial interest. The stake is not held completely directly by Corvex. According to the filing, the holding includes around 5.7 million shares owned by Corvex and some 9.7 million shares held by an individual shareholder, David R. Johnson.

Corvex disclosed a new position in CommonWealth REIT earlier this year. In an earlier filing, the fund disclosed buying almost 10.9 million shares. Right after initiating the position, Corvex, together with Related, began their battle against the management of the company, considering that it creates conflicts of interest and is guilty of mismanagement.

According to our database, Perry Capital, managed by Richard Perry held around 7.1 million shares of CommonWealth REIT. Jeffrey Tannenbaum’s Fir Tree, and Marcato Capital Management, led by Richard Mcguire disclosed less significant positions, which contain around 4.3 million and 3.8 million shares respectively.

Disclosure: none

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