The activist investor calling for a boardroom shake-up at British transport group National Express has accused the company of failing to compete for new opportunities and damaging shareholder value.
US hedge fund Elliott Advisors, which is National Express's largest shareholder with a 17.5 percent stake, warned the bus and rail operator must protect itself against a lack of ambition or risk getting left behind strategically and financially by competitors.
Investment manager Dominik Dolenec and portfolio manager Mark Levine said in interviews with the Sunday Telegraph that National Express had not done enough to protect its leadership position and risks being squeezed out of consolidation trends and new opportunities in the transport sector.
"We think that there are growth opportunities out there that the company is at risk of missing out on," Levine told the newspaper. Elliott has sent a letter to the transport group's investors asking them to elect three new independent directors to push for changes at the firm at its May 10 annual shareholders meeting.
National Express could not be reached for a response. Swiss biotech group Actelion Ltd is also fighting a boardroom battle with Elliott Advisors over its strategy.