Elliott Asks Thyssenkrupp to Reject Former Chairman's Claims

   By Nathan Allen

Elliott Management Corp. has asked Thyssenkrupp AG (TKA.XE) to distance itself from remarks made by former Supervisory Board Chairman Ulrich Lehner during an interview with Germany's Die Zeit in which he denounced the behavior of activist investors, according to a letter made public Thursday.

Mr. Lehner, who resigned from the company on Monday just weeks after the departure of former Chief Executive Heinrich Hiesinger, said activist investors had engaged in "psycho terror," and caused executives to seek psychiatric counseling during an interview with Germany's Die Zeit published on July 12.

While Mr. Lehner didn't directly accuse any particular shareholder of engaging in such practices, Elliott said that any reasonable reader would have concluded he was referring to Elliott.

"As Professor Lehner could not have had any evidence for such accusations, we assume that he made them maliciously or, at least recklessly," Elliott said in the letter to Thyssenkrupp's supervisory board dated July 18.

The investment fund asked the supervisory board to publicly state that the company doesn't support Mr. Lehhner's comments and doesn't view them as truthful.

The letter marks the most recent escalation of an intensifying conflict between the sprawling German conglomerate and its activist shareholders, who feel that the company is in need of restructuring following years of underperformance. The sudden departure of the CEO and chairman were widely seen as a victory for Elliott and fellow activist shareholder Cevian Capital, which holds a stake of nearly 14%.

Elliott said it welcomed the appointment of former Chief Financial Officer Guido Kerkhoff as interim CEO but said that the interim period should be kept short.

"Shareholders expect an unbiased search for a new external CEO, driven by what is best for the company and all of its stakeholders," Elliott said.

Write to Nathan Allen at nathan.allen@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 19, 2018 06:28 ET (10:28 GMT)

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