Starboard Reiterates Calls for Substantial Change at Autodesk — Update

By Denny Jacob

Activist investor Starboard Value reiterated its call for change at Autodesk following recent reports that the company ignored internal warnings related to an accounting probe.

Starboard on Thursday said there is an urgent need for significant change at the design-software maker due to its "meaningful share price underperformance, poor financial results, and troubling disclosure and governance practices." It cited a recent report from Bloomberg that said Autodesk continued to use a controversial sales strategy after promising investors it would stop, and ignored internal warnings about the risks of doing so.

"This recent reporting only strengthens our belief that substantial change is needed at Autodesk in order for the company to achieve its full potential," said the activist investor.

"Autodesk is fully committed to transparency and focused on creating long-term shareholder value as we execute on our strategy, which is driving strong momentum in our business," said an Autodesk spokesperson Thursday.

In June, Starboard--which has a roughly $500 million stake in Autodesk--issued a letter to Autodesk's board critiquing its oversight of management over actions it believes intentionally misled investors. In particular, it said it issued its letter to highlight shareholders' dissatisfaction with Autodesk's response to disclosure and governance issues that were recently disclosed in an investigation by its audit committee.

Autodesk said in May that it wouldn't restate previous financial results following a probe of its accounting practices that found executives had shifted certain charges and payments to affect results.

The company at the time said its investigation found that decisions about spending, collections and accounts payable were informed by how they would affect certain company financial metrics.

Write to Denny Jacob at denny.jacob@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 22, 2024 11:29 ET (15:29 GMT)

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