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CommentHartford, which has a market valuation of nearly $10 billion, was one of the recipients of government funds during the financial crisis.
Although there have been aftershocks, the financial crisis itself ended sometime between late 2008 and mid 2009.
8, when John Paulson publicly pushed for a breakup during an earnings conference call.
"The actions announced today will allow us to build on our strong financial foundation by concentrating our resources on a smaller number of businesses to position Hartford for long term success," said chief financial officer Christopher Swift.
Mr Paulson, whose eponymous hedge fund is Hartford’s largest shareholder, became the latest to push for such a move when he took to the company’s fourth quarter earnings call in February to criticize management and urge them to “do something drastic” to boost the share price.
Paulson, one of the big winners from the carnage of the financial crisis, has made a series of failed bets over the past year.
After betting big on bank stocks, such asBank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) and Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), Paulson sold those sameshares ahead of their recent run up.
Just this week, UPS (UPS, Fortune 500) announced it would buy Dutch shipping company TNT Express for $6.8 billion.
Activist investor Jana Partners had been pushing TNT (TNTEY) for a sale or a shakeup at the company.
Companies appear to be increasingly bowing to pressures from hedge fund and other outside investors to make strategic or board changes to increase share value.0:00 / 2:18 Don’t make a hulking hedge fund angryMany investors and analysts expect activism to heat up over the next few months as proxy season gets underway.
During proxy season, shareholders have the chance to vote for or against a company’s board of directors and other resolutions.
A guarantee company does not usually have a share capital or shareholders, but instead has members who act as guarantors.
Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) is in the midst of its own battle with activist shareholder Third Point.
According to an SEC filing late Tuesday night, Third Point’s Dan Loeb is proposing its own slate of four directors for Yahoo’s board to change the direction of the company.
Dean Rockliffe is a business journalist based in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Dean has a passion for financial markets and breaking news stories and loves writing about business news, stock market, and economic opinions that matters most to its audience. Dean spends a lot of time discovering and researching latest financial markets and industry news stories in order to make sure the latest and greatest stories are brought to you first on BigBoardNews.com.
