Despite holding a $1 billion position in Meta Platforms, ValueAct Capital is not currently advocating for significant changes at the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
According to one of the persons, ValueAct CEO Mason Morfit supported Meta’s larger attempts to invest in artificial intelligence, but it was not immediately clear what the activist fund’s precise ambitions were.
The source claimed that ValueAct may file a statement announcing the stance as early as this week.
ValueAct, based in San Francisco, had previously invested in Microsoft, hoping to improve the company’s performance, and was appointed to the board in 2013.
Compared to other activist investors, ValueAct takes pleasure in working with management and boards outside of the spotlight, finding solutions without threatening raucous boardroom confrontations.
The timing would coincide with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s deadline of November 14 for investors to submit a so-called 13F to the agency outlining their positions.
WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook are all owned by Meta. With a market valuation of around $1.5 trillion, it is among the biggest corporations targeted by activist investors.
In 2022, Brad Gerstner’s Altimeter Capital had already targeted Meta. The corporation was pressured by Gerstner to reduce its workforce in a letter headlined “Time to Get Fit.”
CNBC broke the story first, and Meta’s stock price hardly changed despite the company’s $1.5 trillion valuation.
Meta’s stock has risen quickly this year, outpacing both peer businesses and the S&P 500.
ValueAct is widely regarded as more constructivist and collaborative than other activist funds, and it has a lengthy history of investing in technology businesses.
For instance, as Disney prepared for an activist conflict with Nelson Peltz’s Trian Partners, it negotiated an information-sharing deal with the corporation.
We earlier reported that Meta is advancing the science of embodied AI by allowing robots to touch and feel.
The tech giant clarified in a blog post that the new devices are not intended for consumers.
