Activist Says SemGroup Corp. Worth $104/Share In Sale

SemGroup Corp.

shares jumped Monday on news that an activist shareholder is pushing for a sale of the pipeline company. SemGroup could be worth $104 a share in a sale, the hedge fund Sandell Asset Management Corp. told SemGroup managers in a letter released Monday. The Tulsa, Oklahoma, company changed hands recently at $68.60, up more than 7 percent. "We firmly believe there are a number of potential acquirers for the entire company," according to the letter to SemGroup's board and Chief Executive Carlin Conner. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sandell-asset-management-releases-letter-to-the-board-of-directors-of-semgroup-corporation-2015-01-26 "In fact, during our last conversation Mr. Conner reflected this sentiment by commenting that the ‘sharks were circling' as SEMG's share price declined," according to Sandell's letter. With SemGroup shares off more than 14 percent in the past six months, Sandell said investors are applying "amplified selling pressure" on smaller, less liquid public companies in the energy infrastructure industry. The adversity "will persist for longer than most expect" given changes in global energy markets, Sandell said in the letter, signed by its Chief Executive Thomas Sandell. Carlin Conner, named chief executive early last year, has taken "a stark departure from what, we believe, shareholders were expecting," namely the separation of qualifying assets into a master limited partnership, Sandell said. Sandell owned about 1.05 percent of SemGroup, or 445,718 of the company's 42.65 million shares outstanding, as of its latest filing November 14.