
Cognizant walks a tightrope as activist investor Mantle Ridge builds $1 billion stake
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A new chief executive trying to steer the company, generative AI disrupting the information technology (IT) services industry, and now an activist shareholder raising its stake—New Jersey-based Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp now finds itself walking a tightrope. Cognizant is one of the few companies seeing a second round of shareholder activism in less than 10 years.
Mantle Ridge LP raised its stakes in Cognizant to more than $1 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. Mantle Ridge has not disclosed its stake in the IT services provider. Considering it started buying in the second half of 2022, Cognizant's average share price between 1 July 2022 and 7 March 2025 was $79.
At this price, the activist shareholder would hold at least 2%, according to Mint's calculations. Cognizant shares closed at $83.23 on 7 March. Mantle Ridge sees Cognizant shares as undervalued and believes the company has more room to grow, WSJ reported citing unnamed people.
Activist shareholders buy a substantial stake in a company to drive desired change, typically by getting a seat on the board of directors and voting for or against specific corporate actions. “Activist shareholder firms need not always take a board seat. They can reach out to other shareholders and use that clout in the AGM to necessitate changes in the company, including cost-cutting, shutting down parts of the business or, in extreme cases, seeking a change in management," said Pramod Gubbi, co-founder of Marcellus Investment Managers, a Mumbai-based investment management firm.
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