(The following story by Mark Basch appeared on The Florida Times-Union website on May 14.)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A British hedge fund known for its shareholder activism is apparently not getting anywhere with its investment in CSX Corp.
Snehal Amin, founding partner of TCI Fund Management LLP, said in an interview with Bloomberg that he has met three times with CSX Chief Executive Michael Ward and twice with Chief Financial Officer Oscar Munoz but was not satisfied with the results. Amin is suggesting ways to improve CSX’s performance.
“I’ve tried over the past four or five months to engage both the CSX management team and the board, and we’ve had very little success in doing that,” Amin said in the interview. “The board has pretty much refused to engage with us, which we find confusing given that we’re shareholders.”
CSX responded in a statement by saying it is taking appropriate steps to enhance shareholder value, including share repurchases and a dividend increase announced last week. It also said CSX management has met with TCI, as it regularly does with shareholders.
Jacksonville-based CSX disclosed in its quarterly report last month that TCI intended to buy more than $500 million in its stock. TCI hasn’t said how much CSX stock it owns and it has not made any filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are required when investors acquire 5 percent or more of a company’s stock.
Amin said TCI has also invested in two other major railroads, but he wouldn’t identify them.