ValueAct Capital Partners LP, a San Francisco hedge fund investor, has increased its stake in Santa Ana’s Advanced Medical Optics Inc. to 9.9% from 7.3%.
ValueAct is known as an activist investor that urges management to make changes aimed at boosting a company’s value.
In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, ValueAct reported holding 5.9 million shares of Advanced Medical, up from 4.4 million shares in a May 11 regulatory filing.
ValueAct said in its earlier filing that it could seek to buy more shares and discuss the eye surgery device and contact lens care solution company’s business with management or directors, other shareholders, industry analysts, existing or potential strategic partners and investors, but did not outline any issues in that filing.
Advanced Medical recalled its Complete MoisturePlus contact lens solution in late May after a government investigation linked it to a rare eye infection that causes blindness, its second product recall in six months.
ValueAct manages some $1.5 billion on behalf of institutional and wealthy investors. In the past, the firm invested in TriZetto Group Inc., a Newport Beach maker of healthcare software. It’s the second largest shareholder in Reuters PLC, which Canadian publisher Thomson Corp. is seeking to buy for $17.2 billion.
