5月22日，英国对冲基金克里斯托弗霍恩（英国对冲基金）罕有罕见的公众出现罕见。The intensely private 41-year-old founder and managing partner of The Children’s Investment Fund Management (UK), a London-based hedge fund firm with more than $15 billion under management, was being grilled by lawyers for CSX Corp., which is suing TCI and a fellow shareholder, New York–based hedge fund 3G Capital Partners. The firms have nominated five directors for election to CSX’s 12-member board at the June 25 annual general meeting, and the U.S. railway and ports company is fighting back.
For more than an hour, Hohn, a boyish-looking graduate of Harvard Business School, parried questions as the legal team tried to prove CSX’s allegations that TCI and 3G violated securities regulations by using swaps and swap arrangements to build up a stake in the company in excess of 5 percent while avoiding outright stock purchases, thereby evading Securities and Exchange Commission reporting requirements. CSX also charges that TCI and 3G had covertly pursued a common investment strategy in CSX — which requires disclosure as well — before they announced on December 19 that they had formed an investment group. CSX, which filed the suit on March 17, wants the court to order corrective disclosure from TCI and 3G and prevent them from voting their shares.
“我们遗憾的是，该公司已成为一个明显的比赛，”Hohn告诉机构投资者。亚博赞助欧冠“我们只是寻求行使我们由民主股东投票征求委员会成员的权利。”预计6月中旬预计裁决。
CSX胜利会霍布·霍恩的计划，并处理TCI一个罕见的失败。Since launching the firm’s flagship fund in January 2004, Hohn has gained a reputation as an intrepid shareholder activist, rising to prominence in 2005 by opposing Deutsche Börse’s bid for the London Stock Exchange and spurring the breakup and sale of giant Dutch bank ABN Amro in 2007. This spring TCI has been grabbing headlines for pressuring the Japanese government to allow it to double its 9.9 percent stake in Electric Power Development Co. (J-Power), one of Japan’s largest energy producers. In April, Japan’s Trade and Finance ministries blocked TCI’s request, citing national security concerns, but J-Power has since said publicly it may consider appointing outside directors in 2009.
该诉讼是CSX和TCI之间的代理战斗中的最新Salvo，这已经肆虐八个月。TCI和3G在上个月提交的反书中否认了指控，断言铁路公司试图防止股东“甚至考虑加强CSX公司治理的建议”。在其核心，争议是谁将塑造公司的未来。TCI雇用了深度值，基本的方法，挑战了CSX，以分离主席和首席执行官的角色，提名更多董事与运输经验，通过保证资产负债表购买更多股份来购买更多董事。
CSX表示，这是短暂的，但在接受II的采访时，主席和首席执行官Michael Ward致力于捍卫铁路的战略计划。“我们据说我们将增加股息，股票回购并投资未来，”他说。“在TCI到达之前，我们正在这样做，我们将继续这样做。但TCI没有发生这种情况。“
既不是争端CSX的财务健康。鉴于石油价格，该公司似乎有望在未来几个月内提供更大的盈利能力，这是通过铁路运输货物的价格比卡车更便宜。CSX表示，其股东 - 包括TCI和3G，共同拥有8.7％的股票，并通过交换安排额外增加12.3％的曝光 - 可以期待每股收益的复合年增长18％至21％，目标是2008年的目标to 2010. CSX’s share price soared 57.8 percent, to $69, in the first five months of 2008.
TCI表示，其被提名者将独立投票，并指出，随着Hohn的显着例外，他们都与运输管理人员相当多的经验。除了AméricaLatinaLogística前首席执行官的3G董事总经理，除拉丁美洲最大的独立铁路运营商，其中包括伦敦地铁董事总经理的伊利诺伊州中央铁路前主席，以及西北航空前主席。“CSX想要画画的照片，如果我们的董事的石板获得批准，这将是一块董事会，”Hohn说。“但这些都是非常严肃的，周到的人。”
CSX刚收到了一个打击。在6月4日的信中，SEC官方Brian Breheny写道，他不相信与银行交易对手执行的TCI的交易交易使对冲基金公司有益所有者 - 有投票权 - 那些股份的投票权。即使CSX获胜，决定公司未来的最终权力也没有与法院同谋，但与最大的股东 - 包括Deutsche Bank，Citigroup，Barclays全球投资者和国家街道公司。投票仍然属于他们。