Paul Wick, managing director of J.W. Seligman & Co. - one of Computer Associates biggest investors - said his firm would support a slate of board candidates trying to wrest control of the world's No. 4 software maker away from current management.
Wick said he would throw his support to a slate of ten candidates for board of directors proposed by Sam Wyly, the Texas billionaire who last month launched a fight to replace the company's current board and kick out its management.
"As a Computer Associates shareholder, we are disappointed in the performance with the company and management's inability to deliver value to its stockholders," Wick said.
J.W. Seligman is Computer Associate's 11th largest investor, holding about 6.8 million shares, or 1.7 percent of the total outstanding float, according to Thomson Financial's ShareWatch Web.
In June, Wyly said he would launch a proxy fight and ask voters at the company's August 29 annual meeting to oust the current board of directors and replace it with a slate of his own. Wyly wants to rid the company of its founder, chairman, and board member Charles Wang and Chief Executive Sanjay Kumar.
"We believe CA has taken appropriate steps to enhance shareholder value," Computer Associates representative Owen Blicksilver said, responding to Wick's comments. "We will work to make sure that message is delivered to and understood by all investors before August 29."
Wyly has accused the current management of allowing the stock to languish.
From 1996 through 2001, shares of Computer Associates have lost 14 percent of their value, while the S&P 500 has risen 194 percent.
However, the software maker has frequently cited that since the beginning of the year, its shares have risen nearly 86 percent, while the S&P 500 has lost more than 6 percent.
Computer Associates is the world's No. 4 maker of software behind Microsoft, Oracle, and International Business Machines.
