Starboard Value’s added Corteva and ON to portfolio, sees growth

BOSTON (Reuters) – Activist investment firm Starboard Value has made new bets on agricultural chemical company Corteva and on ON Semiconductor and expects margins can grow at each company, the firm’s chief investment officer Jeff Smith said at a conference on Thursday.

Smith told the 13D Monitor Active-Passive Investment Summit that Corteva’s stock price could surge as much as 90% and that its margins could grow to 23% from 14.4% currently.

He saw opportunity for margin growth at ON as well and said the company could become an attractive acquisition target and that the right new chief executive could create a lot of value.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)