Activists spur these leaders to change

Article Excerpt

SINA CORP. $115 (Nasdaq symbol SINA; Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 71.5 million; Market cap: $8.2 billion; Takeover Target Rating: Lowest; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.sina.com) is one of China’s best-known Internet companies. It generates revenue from its range of websites, in particular its hugely popular social-networking service Weibo (Nasdaq symbol WB). That business has 361 million active users in China. SINA spun off Weibo in 2014, but still retains a 46% stake in the company. U.S. activist Aristeia Capital wants major changes at SINA. It argues the company must do more to narrow the gap between the total value of its individual assets and SINA’s market cap. For instance, that market cap is 18% lower than the value of SINA’s 46% stake in Weibo. To close the gap, and unlock value, Aristeia wants the company to consider buying back shares (SINA holds cash of $2.1 billion, or $29.37 a share and has low debt). Another possibility is spinning off the…