Arthur Sulzberger Slaps Back at Vagilante Hedge-FundersSwiftly after yesterday’s news that Firebrand Partners and Harbinger Capital Partners increased their ownership of the New York Times to nearly 10 percent, we learn that Arthur Sulzberger has made his nominations for the two empty seats on the company’s board. The two hedge funds were hoping to seat two of their own people on the committee, to steer it toward focusing on its core assets and developing its digital brands. To do that, they nominated four digital and financial gurus: AOL’s Gregory Shove; James Kohlberg, co-founder of the private equity firm Kohlberg & Co.; the Mayfield Fund’s Allen Morgan; and our favorite vagilante ever, Scott Galloway. The Times, in retaliation, nominated Drugstore.com CEO Dawn Lepore and former Salomon CEO Robert Denham. The hedge funds met with Sulzberger on Friday and urged him to have his nomination committee interview their candidates, but apparently Sulzberger was uninterested. In our inexpert opinion, the board should just vote to approve whichever new member will support more Britney Spears coverage. Because apparently that’s the only way to make money in print these days.
Sulzberger Strikes Back [Portfolio]
Related: Vagilante Shareholder Scott Galloway Takes on the ‘Times’, A Harbinger of Things to Come? Hedge Funds Increase Share in ‘NYT’