Shares of Crown Castle Inc. CCI climbed 5.7% toward a four-month high in premarket trading Monday, after activist investor Elliott Investment Management LP called for “significant changes,” including new executive and board leadership and a review of its fiber business. Elliott said the funds it manages have invested about $2 billion in the real estate investment trust, focused on wireless infrastructure. “The company’s strategy, led by [Chief Executive] Jay Brown since 2016, has been a failure, as demonstrated by the breathtaking magnitude of its underperformance,” Elliott wrote in a letter to the company’s board. “During the tenure of the current executive team, Crown Castle has underperformed its direct peers by an average of 85% in total return, which translates into nearly $26 billion of unfulfilled shareholder value.” The stock has tumbled 23.6% year to date through Friday, while the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF XLRE has eased 1.7% and the S&P 500 SPX has rallied 18.8%. On Oct. 19, the stock’s close of $85.89 was the lowest since Jan. 19, 2017.
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