Another Daniel Loeb Letter

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Sotheby'sFollowers of business news may remember hedge fund manager Dan Loeb's letter to the Yahoo board of directors calling for the termination of Yahoo's now former CEO Scott Thompson. Thompson had falsified some information on his resume.

Now Loeb is after Sotheby's chairman and CEO Bill Ruprecht. This latest letter is more personal, according to a Reuters opinion writer, than his letter about Yahoo-or another letter about Sony's strategy. In this case, Reuters writer Felix Salman speculates that Loeb will not be successful in "outsting" Ruprecht, but he may get a stock price boost he's looking for.

Here are headings of the full letter: 

  • Pressing Issues at Sotheby's
  • Management's Lack of Alignment with Shareholders
  • Limitations in Formulating and Executing Strategic Initiatives
  • A Prescription for Repairing Sotheby's

Discussion Starters:

  • Compare Loeb's three letters: to Yahoo, Sony, and Sotheby's. What differences do you notice, and what could account for them?
  • In what ways do you agree or disagree with the Reuters writer's view?