Greenlight Capital urges Brighthouse to accept Aquarian buyout offer

Greenlight Capital president David Einhorn sent a letter to the board of Brighthouse Financial (BHF), encouraging the company to” follow-through on its reported decision to evaluate strategic alternatives by accepting the offer that has apparently been made for the Company by Aquarian Holdings.” Greenlight owns 4.9% of Brighthouse’s outstanding shares. The letter says in part, “Based on media reports, we understand that for the past several months, the Company has explored strategic alternatives, including a sale of the Company, and that one credible buyer, Aquarian, has emerged with a final bid of around $70 per share in cash. This bid represents a 55% premium to the closing price on September 18, which itself already incorporated a fair amount of takeover speculation. We agree wholeheartedly that the time has come to sell the Company. We believe selling the Company at this price is in the best interests of all shareholders…It is clear that Brighthouse has not earned the confidence of public market investors. The accounting is notably opaque and the Company has failed to articulate an investment rationale to attract investors…We therefore urge the Board to follow through on the process it began, engage constructively with the bidder, and move forward expeditiously to close this transaction.”