Ken Griffin - An Activist With Manners?

In a 13D filing on 3COM Corporation (Nasdaq: COMS) after the close, Citadel LP disclosed a 8.4% stake in the company and a letter to the company requesting a meeting with the management team and Board of Directors regarding 3COM's corporate strategy.

Citadel LP, run by Kenneth Griffin, has become one of the world's largest hedge funds.

A Copy of the Letter:



Citadel Equity Fund Ltd. (“CEFL”) is currently one of the largest shareholders of 3COM Corporation (“3COM”). Citadel Limited Partnership is CEFL’s Portfolio Manager. On Monday April 16, we spoke with your CEO, Edgar Masri, and head of Investor Relations, John Vincenzo, to express our support for the management team, ask questions regarding corporate strategy and articulate our views as a significant shareholder of 3COM.

As you are aware, 3COM’s share price has underperformed both relative and absolute measures of shareholder return for many years. More recently, the market’s reaction to 3COM’s purchase of Huawei Technologies’s 49% ownership in H3C has resulted in a nearly 20% decline in share price.

We believe that many options exist today for the creation of substantial value for 3COM’s shareholders. We would like to meet with the management team and Board of Directors at their earliest convenience to discuss our thoughts regarding 3COM’s corporate strategy. As a significant shareholder we believe our input could result in improved value for all of 3COM’s shareholders.