Just six weeks after activist shareholder Starboard Value purchased a 9.1% stake, Tripadvisor now has a second investor who is urging changes.
Palliser Capital of the UK claims that it is suppressing growth by managing a struggling legacy Tripadvisor company and Viator, its fastest growing brand and a platform to share experiences.
“It is attempting to operate simultaneously as a value business and a growth business — and succeeding at neither,” James Smith, Palliser chief investment officer, wrote to the Tripadvisor board.
The company’s total value is less than $2 billion. Palliser believes Viator alone is worth $2-$2.5 billion and the company as a whole is worth $3.7 billion.
The company wants Tripadvisor’s attention to be focused on Viator, or it wants the Viator business sold. It wants Tripadvisor to focus on Viator or sell it.
