Starboard Value builds 6.5% stake in GoDaddy, sending shares up 8%

Investing

In this article

Spencer Platt | Getty Images

Activist investor Starboard Value has taken a 6.5% stake in GoDaddy, sparking a rally in shares of the web services company.

The hedge fund bought more than 10,000 shares of GoDaddy, worth about $800 million, according to a regulatory filing. The new stake became the biggest holding for Starboard.

Shares of GoDaddy jumped more than 9% on the news Monday.

Loading chart…

The stock is flat on the year even as the company experienced a surge in online traffic amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Starboard’s stake.

Starboard Value and GoDaddy did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.

Starboard Value CEO Jeff Smith has been a prolific activist investor even during the pandemic as he pushed for changes in companies across the veterinary, chemicals and health-care industries.

Starboard Value manages about $6.2 billion in assets, according to filings through the first quarter of 2020. Smith spun the New York-based hedge fund out of investment firm Ramius in 2011.

— CNBC’s Jesse Pound contributed reporting.

Articles You May Like

Mortgage demand drops to its lowest level since July, as interest rates return to summer highs
Municipals outperform USTs to close out volatile month
UK borrowing costs hit highest level this year as gilt sell-off intensifies
Why rates, climate and infrastructure needs will drive issuance
Top Wall Street analysts are upbeat on these dividend stocks