Activist Investor Wins Spot On Aimco Board After Months Of Agitating

Activist investor Land & Buildings Investment Management, a hedge fund based in Connecticut, saw one of its candidates elected by shareholders to the board of directors of Colorado-based Apartment Investment and Management Co., or Aimco.

The move is the latest in an ongoing spat between Land & Buildings, which owns 5.8% of Aimco, and Aimco management. Land & Buildings pressured stockholders to make changes at Aimco at least three times previously this year.

In an early December public letter, Land & Buildings urged shareholders of Aimco, which operates about $3B in apartment properties, to elect James Sullivan and Michelle Applebaum to the 10-person board at the 2022 annual shareholders meeting.

"The company has underperformed for years ... Aimco has continued to trade at a deep discount to its own stated [net asset value], yet is pursuing a large-scale acquisition and development growth plan that requires an effective cost of capital the company does not possess," Land & Buildings asserted in the open letter.

For its part, Aimco urged stockholders to elect its slate of three nominees to the board, citing their experience in multifamily.

At the meeting on Friday, shareholders elected two of Aimco's nominees — existing directors Jay Leupp and Dary Stone — but also Land & Buildings nominee Sullivan, a real estate analyst. He will take the place of Aimco’s incumbent director Michael Stein, who chairs the board's investment committee.

Aimco (AIV) stock dipped about 1% in early trading on Monday. Over the last year, Aimco stock has lost more than 6% of its value.

CORRECTION: DEC. 22, 3 P.M. ET: A previous version of this story misstated the drop in Aimco’s stock price. The story has been updated.