Elliott Management owns big Dropbox stake, holds discussions
Activist investor Elliott Management owns a large stake in Dropbox and has been holding private discussions with the file-sharing service provider for some time, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
The hedge fund owns a stake of more than 10 percent, which is valued at more than $800 million, the person said, declining to reveal the exact size of the investment.
Dropbox, which was co-founded by Drew Houston who is currently the company’s chief executive officer, is valued at roughly $11 billion. The company, which allows users to store documents, videos and photos online, listed its shares in March 2018 at $21 a share.
A representative for Dropbox did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Wednesday, Dropbox was trading at $28.11, having jumped as much as 7 percent on news that Elliott has a stake and is holding discussions with management.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the stake.
![Confetti showered Dropbox CEO Drew Houston and Dropbox co-founder Arash Ferdowsi (center) as they celebrated the launch of Dropbox's initial public offering in March 2018, ringing the opening bell at the Nasdaq.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/06/elliott-management-stakes-dropbox.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024)
Elliott has previously worked with companies that were being led by founders, including Twitter and SoftBank Group.
The hedge fund invests roughly $40 billion and currently owns stakes in Duke Energy, where it has urged the company to consider splitting into three companies, and drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline.