Elliott Management Corporation, which said that it now manages $3.2 billion worth of AT&T shares, wrote a lengthy letter to the telecom and media giant’s board of directors on Monday outlining what Elliott called AT&T’s “long-term underperformance.”
“AT&T’s shareholder returns have been disappointing over a prolonged period,” the investor wrote. The letter pointed to acquisitions that haven’t panned out, missed opportunities, operational inefficiencies and AT&T’s “poor execution in wireless.”
Signed by partner Jesse Cohn and Elliott’s Associate Portfolio Manager Marc Steinberg, the detailed memo called out the telecom company for its poor performance in wireless and what they believe are bad purchases of non-core assets, namely DirecTV, that have dragged down the overall business.