US Hedge Fund Elliott Acquires Large Stake in Dropbox

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The US-based activist fund Elliott Management has acquired a large stake in cloud service provider Dropbox.

On the 2nd (local time), the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing multiple sources, reported that "Elliott informed the company that it has secured the second-largest stake after Dropbox's co-founder and CEO Drew Houston."

It is reported that both parties have already been negotiating since the beginning of this year. However, the specific demands of Elliott have not been disclosed.

WSJ explained, "Since the existing second-largest shareholder, asset management firm Vanguard Group, holds a 9.7% stake, Elliott's stake is expected to exceed 10%."

Dropbox was co-founded by Drew Houston in 2007 and primarily provides cloud-based file storage services. Its current market capitalization is approximately $11.1 billion (about 12.3 trillion KRW).

WSJ reported, "Since Dropbox was listed on the Nasdaq market in 2018, its stock price has been valued below the initial public offering price, making it frequently mentioned as a target for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the market."

Founded in 1977 by activist investor Paul Singer, Elliott is an activist fund that actively intervenes in the management of companies in which it acquires stakes. Last year, it purchased shares in Twitter and SoftBank to demand management improvements. In the past, it opposed the Samsung C&T merger process and attacked the governance issues of Hyundai Motor Group.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.