Yelp Jumps Most Since August on Report Activist Urges Sale
(Bloomberg) -- Yelp Inc. shares rose the most since August following a Wall Street Journal report that an activist investor has called for the company to look into a sale and other strategic options.
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TCS Capital Management plans to deliver a letter to Yelp’s board on Tuesday in which it makes the case for a sale, arguing that the firm could fetch more than double its current share price, the Journal reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.
“Yelp maintains an active dialogue with our shareholders and values constructive feedback on our business and ways to create value,” a Yelp spokesperson said, according to the Journal.
The owner of the reviews site rose as much as 13% and was up 10% to $35.62 at 9:32 a.m. in New York on Tuesday after the report, the biggest intraday increase since Aug. 5.
It isn’t the first time a major investor has pushed for Yelp to explore a sale. In 2019, SQN Investors pushed the company to either follow recommendations to improve its performance or consider selling itself. After Yelp made a series of changes, SQN said the company should still remain open to an eventual sale.
Earlier this month, Yelp reported a 13% increase in net revenue for the first quarter, which Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Stoppelman attributed to strong demand from advertisers.
(Updates with shares in fourth paragraph.)
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