Tripadvisor settles with activist investor Starboard Value, expands board
March 23 (Reuters) - Online travel company Tripadvisor TRIP.O said on Monday it had signed a cooperation agreement with activist investor Starboard Value and expanded its board from eight to 10 directors, as part of a major overhaul.
Tripadvisor has added Dhiren Fonseca and Andrew Cates to its board, effective immediately, as part of the agreement, the company said. Starboard will recommend two additional directors for election at its annual stockholders meeting, it added.
Shares of the Needham, Massachusetts-based company were up more than 3% in premarket trading following the news.
The move comes after Starboard sent a letter to the board urging Tripadvisor to formally explore a sale of the entire company and criticized the pace of efforts to review strategic alternatives for its restaurant-booking unit, TheFork.
The company has been grappling with a lagged recovery from pandemic-era disruptions as it navigates through a competitive travel landscape, with peers such as Booking Holdings BKNG.O and Airbnb ABNB.O sizing up the market share.
