Visteon shareholder, the hedge fund Pardus Capital Management, has this week increased its stake in Visteon to 14.1%, and is now seeking to appoint a trustee to the supplier’s board of directors.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Last May, Pardus Capital said it would “closely evaluate the performance” of Visteon, and that it may seek board seats and cause a merger or consolidation if it remains “unsatisfied” with Visteon’s performance. Pardus Capital has purchased its entire stake in Visteon this year.
According to Automotive News, Visteon has taken Pardus Capital’s request for a seat on the board “under advisement” [sic], and it is unclear whether the request is being viewed as hostile or friendly.
Earlier this year Pardus Capital took control of Bally Total Fitness, having successful gained seats on the company’s board.
In the last two months it has been reported that French supplier Valeo may be interested in acquiring Visteon.
Speaking at a conference in Paris yesterday, Visteon executives would not comment on either Valeo or Pardus.
Visteon chairman and CEO, Michael Johnston and president and chief operating officer Donald Stebbins provided an overview of Visteon’s financial outlook and indicated that reductions in production levels by the US Big Three in the second half of this year mean that it is unlikely to meet targets for the second half of the year. The company currently expects second half product sales to be about 10% lower than first half product sales of $US5.7bn.
