"Be it through personnel decisions which do not appear to take into account the needs of the business or compensation decisions which we don't believe have been aligned with the success (or lack thereof) of the shareholders, it is unfortunate that this Board has overseen a path which has seen the shareholders bearing the economic burdens of their mistakes," Spring Owl said in an emailed statement.
In February Bwin sought shareholder approvals to award chief executive Norbert Teufelberger a maximum of five and a half times his base salary of £500,000.
"We look forward to meeting with Mr. Yea to understand his views on an appropriate path forward and how to pursue an appropriately composed board for the challenges faced by BWIN," Mr Ader added.
A Bwin spokesman replied: “We have had several conversations with Jason, welcome his investment and look forward to holding more in-depth dialogue. We continue to urge him to use his right to nominate his representative to the Board as soon as possible so that we can take him through the full details of our plans.”
Mr Ader is a relatively new name in activist circles after he succesfully took a position in US slot maker International Game Technology and won a seat on the board.
The former Bear Stearns analyst merged his firm, Ader Investment Management, with hedge fund Cumberland Associates in October to create SpringOwl. A spokesman for SpringOwl confirmed that it was the fund’s first deal. Mr Ader “feels the company is undervalued and is looking to see it reach its potential”, the spokesman added.
The activist’s entrance was welcomed by Ivor Jones, leisure analyst at Numis, who said that the new shareholder could be a catalyst for a restructuring which releases values from Bwin’s different business parts. “We believe that there are several sources of value to a third-party within the business of bwin.party, Jones said.
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