market folly

Barry Rosenstein's activist hedge fund firm JANA Partners recently filed an amended 13D with the SEC regarding its position in ConAgra Foods (CAG).  Per the filing, JANA now owns 6.3% of CAG with over 27.38 million shares of exposure (including call options to purchase 6 million shares).

If you back out the 6 million shares via call options (which JANA disclosed as a new position in the first quarter), you're left with 21.38 million shares. 

Compare this with the 21.53 million shares JANA owned at the end of the first quarter, and this means they've slightly reduced their net exposure to the name. 

The filing was made due to activity on May 27th and the purpose of transaction notes that they "entered into an agreement with the Issuer that amends and restates the Cooperation Agreement (the "Amended and Restated Cooperation Agreement"). The full text of the Amended and Restated Cooperation Agreement is included as Exhibit D to this Amendment No. 2 by reference to Exhibit 99.1 of the Issuer's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 31, 2016 (the "Form 8-K") and is incorporated by reference herein.

For more on this fund, we recently highlighted that JANA reduced its Walgreens Boots Alliance position.

Per Google Finance, ConAgra Foods "operates as a packaged food company. The Company offers branded and private branded food to households, as well as commercial foods, which serves various restaurants and foodservice operations. The Company operates in three segments: Consumer Foods, Commercial Foods and Private Brands. Its brands include Banquet, Chef Boyardee, Egg Beaters, Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Hunt's, Marie Callender's, Orville Redenbacher's, PAM, Peter Pan, Reddi-wip, Slim Jim and Snack Pack, among others. The Company sells its products under private brand labels in grocery, convenience, mass merchandise, club and drug stores. Additionally, ConAgra Foods supplies frozen potato and sweet potato products, as well as other vegetable, spice, bakery, and grain products, to restaurants, commercial and foodservice customers. It has international manufacturing facilities in Argentina, Mexico and interests in ownership of international manufacturing facilities in India and Mexico.."