Starboard Value Spends $800M to Acquire 6.5% Stake in GoDaddy

The shares of GoDaddy have been rallying since the start of the day after investor Starboard Value spent nearly a billion dollars in acquiring its stocks.

Starboard Value Buys Shares Worth $800 Million

Activist investor Starboard Value announced earlier today that it had acquired a 6.5% stake in GoDaddy, spending $800 million in the process. The acquisition led to a massive interest in GoDaddy, with the shares of the web service company rallying by more than 8% over the past few hours.

In its regulatory filing, the hedge fund firm said it had acquired more than 10,000 shares of GoDaddy, worth over $800 million. Following this latest development, the investment in GoDaddy is Starboard’s biggest yet.

Starboard Value is a hedge fund with more than $6 billion in assets under management, according to its filings through the first quarter of 2020. Founded by Jeff Smith, Starboard Value was created from investment firm Ramius in 2011.

The CEO Jeff Smith is known as one of the leading activist investors on Wall Street. He has been pushing for changes in how companies operate, especially those in areas such as healthcare, chemicals and veterinary.

GDDY Rallies Following the Announcement

The shares of GoDaddy have been rallying since the announcement earlier today. Since the US market opened a few hours ago, the shares of GoDaddy have been up by more than 8%, making it one of the best performers in the market.

At press time, GDDY is trading above the $82 mark, outperforming numerous stocks in the market. GDDY has underperformed since the start of the year, losing less than 1% of its value in the past 12 months.

However, the stock could recover its position following the latest announcement. In the past month, GDDY’s value has surged by more than 18%. If it maintains the momentum, then GDDY could top the $85 level soon and end the year with a positive performance.