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Activist Ides Capital Pushes for Changes at Perceptron

Activist Ides Capital Pushes for Changes at Perceptron

(Bloomberg) -- Activist investor Ides Capital Management LP is to said to press for changes at Perceptron Inc. as the company trades at a significant discount to larger peers, according to a person familiar.

Ides began taking a stake in Perceptron earlier this year and recently helped to get Jay Freeland, former chief executive officer of competitor Faro Technologies Inc., elected to the board after agitating for changes behind the scenes. Ides is still looking for further changes in corporate governance at the industrial metrology company, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

Ides is one of the rare activist funds in finance that is run by a woman, Dianne McKeever. She has had success with AstroNova Inc. -- where Reuters said she was partly behind the appointment of a female director -- as the shares are up about 20 percent since her involvement was disclosed in early April. Share of Boingo Wireless Inc. are up three-fold since March 2016, when Ides reportedly nominated two directors.

A Perceptron representative declined to comment on the activist. Ides also declined to comment. The size of the firm’s stake couldn’t be learned. Moab Capital, Ariel Investments and Royce & Associates are Perceptron’s biggest holders with stakes exceeding 9 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

To contact the reporter on this story: Joshua Fineman in New York at jfineman@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at clarkin4@bloomberg.net, Brad Olesen

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