Why is Birch Hill so Passive?From the Birch Hill website:
.....Birch Hill is a Canadian mid-market private equity firm with a long history of driving growth in our portfolio companies and delivering returns to our investors. Based in Toronto, we currently have $5 billion in capital under management. Since 1994, we have made 70 investments, with 56 fully realized. Today, our 17 partner companies collectively represent one of Canada’s largest corporate entities with over $9 billion in total revenue and more than 30,000 employees.....
Birch Hill is by far the largest investor in TWM with around 23% of the shares. Birch Hill have cashed out on 56 investments leaving TWM as one of only 14 (or 17?) ongoing investments. They are underwater by somewhere between 20c and 40c per share on their TWM investment so this has to be one of their poorest performing investments. Any other private equity firm in this position would be advocating change and a shake-up of some form. BH have a couple of directors on the board so know exactly what is going on and have access to a lot of information and insights we do not. Why are thay not being more pro-active in surfacing value? I cannot believe they would think the share price would go up with a dividend elimination which makes me think if they supported the dividend elimination they know something we do not about what TWM is planning and it must be significant. At least I certainly hope so.