Contact Information

JANA PARTNERS
767 5th Avenue
8th FL
New York, NY 10153
212-455-0900

Description

JANA Partners is an activist investment firm founded in 2001 by Barry Rosenstein. JANA’s activist, long-only strategy is JANA Strategic Investments (JSI), which launched in 2010. JANA’s driving purpose is to leverage shareholder engagement to create substantial value for both investors and the stakeholders of the select companies JANA chooses to invest in. JANA also engages in the sponsorship of special purpose acquisition companies.

Management

Barry Rosenstein, Founder, Managing Partner, and Co-Portfolio Manager of JANA Strategic Investments:

Prior to founding JANA Partners LLC in 2001, Mr. Rosenstein acted as a principal of Sagaponack Partners, a private equity fund beginning in 1993. Prior to Sagaponack Partners, Mr. Rosenstein founded and headed the investment banking and merchant banking groups of Genesis Merchant Group beginning in 1991. Prior to Genesis Merchant Group, Mr. Rosenstein formed and acted as managing partner of Reatta Partners, a transaction-specific investment partnership backed by the Kansas City-based Sutherland family beginning in 1990. Prior to Reatta Partners, Mr. Rosenstein was a principal in charge of corporate takeovers with Asher B. Edelman's Plaza Securities Corporation beginning in 1986. Mr. Rosenstein began his career in 1984 as an investment banker specializing in mergers and acquisitions with Merrill Lynch in New York. During his tenure at JANA, Mr. Rosenstein has served as a Director on the Boards of Cobra Electronics Corp., Copart, Inc., Convergys Corporation, and Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. Mr. Rosenstein is a trustee of Brown University, the U.S. Olympic Foundation, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the 92nd Street Y in New York City and a founding trustee of The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music. Mr. Rosenstein received an M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business (Graduated with Honors 1984) and a B.A. from Lehigh University (Graduated Phi Beta Kappa 1981).

Scott Ostfeld, Managing Partner and Portfolio Manager of JANA Strategic Investments:

Prior to joining JANA Partners LLC in 2006, Mr. Ostfeld was with GSC Partners in their distressed debt private equity group focused on acquiring companies through the restructuring process and enhancing value as an active equity owner. Prior to GSC Partners, Mr. Ostfeld was an investment banker at Credit Suisse First Boston where he worked on a variety of M&A and capital raising assignments. Mr. Ostfeld is a member of the Board of Directors of Conagra Brands, Inc. and was previously a member the Board of Directors of HD Supply Holdings, Inc. until its sale to Home Depot, Inc. and Team Health Holdings, Inc. until its sale to Blackstone Group Inc. Mr. Ostfeld serves on the non profit board for Columbia University’s Richman Center for Business, Law and Public Policy. Mr. Ostfeld received a J.D. from Columbia Law School (Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar 2002) where he was a Senior Editor of the Columbia Law Review, an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School (Graduated Beta Gamma Sigma 2002) and a B.A. from Columbia University (Graduated Magna Cum Laude/Phi Beta Kappa 1998).

Kevin Galligan, Partner:

Prior to joining JANA Partners LLC in 2011, Mr. Galligan was a Principal (2010-2011) and Associate (2007-2010) in the North American Private Equity group at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company. Prior to that, he worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory Division of the Blackstone Group (2005-2007). Mr. Galligan received a B.A. in Economics from Columbia University (Graduated Cum Laude 2005).

David DiDomenico, Partner:

Prior to joining JANA Partners LLC in 2010, Mr. DiDomenico was a Managing Director of New Mountain Capital and the Portfolio Manager of the New Mountain Vantage Fund (2005-2010). He was previously an Associate Portfolio Manager at Neuberger Berman (2002-2005). From 1999-2002, Mr. DiDomenico was a member of the Acquisitions Team at Starwood Capital Group where he focused on corporate and real estate transactions. From 1998-1999, he was an Analyst at Tiger Management. As the head of JANA’s SPAC strategy, Mr. DiDomenico leads JANA’s SPAC efforts and serves as a Director of BlackSky Technology Inc. as of September 2021 following its merger with Osprey Technology Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition corporation co-sponsored by JANA where he served as Chief Executive Officer, President and Director. He previously served as a Co-Portfolio Manager of JANA’s hedge fund strategies with Barry Rosenstein. Mr. DiDomenico also previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of KAR Auction Services, Inc. He serves on the non-profit board of the Lincoln Center Theater. Mr. DiDomenico received an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business (1998) and an A.B. in Government from Harvard College with honors (1992).

Jennifer Fanjiang, Partner, Chief Legal Officer and Chief Compliance Officer:

Jennifer joined JANA in 2007 and is responsible for the firm’s legal and compliance affairs. She provides critical legal and corporate governance advice relating to JANA’s shareholder engagements, making her an integral member of the investment team. Before joining JANA, Jennifer was an Associate at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLC (2004-2007) focusing on securities law and shareholder activism. Prior to that, she was an Associate at Jenkens & Gilchrist, Parker Chapin (2003-2004). Jennifer received a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center (2003) and a B.S. from Cornell University (1998).

Commentary

JANA is a very experienced activist investor founded in 2001 by Barry Rosenstein. They made their name taking deeply researched activist positions with well-conceived plans for long term value. Barry Rosenstein called his activist strategy "V cubed". The three "Vs" were (i) Value: buying at the right price; (ii) Votes: knowing whether you have the votes before commencing a proxy fight; and (iii) Variety of ways to win: having more than one strategy to enhance value and exit an investment. This worked well for them through 2008 where the 19 13Ds they filed had an average 13D holding period of 23 months and averaged a return of 39.4% versus 9.9% for the S&P500 during those holding periods. Since 2008, they have gradually shifted that strategy to a strategic, short term strategy which we characterize as the three “Ss” (i) Stock price - buying at the right price; (ii) Strategic activism - sale of company or spin-off of a business; and (iii) Star advisors/nominees - aligning with top industry executives to advise them and take board seats if necessary. Since 2008 their average holding period with this philosophy has been approximately nine months.