He’s impish on Elf
Activist pushes for cosmetic outfit sale
A big shareholder is calling on Elf Beauty — a marketer of cruelty-free makeup carried at discount stores like Walmart and Target — to put itself up for sale.
In a letter to Elf ’s chief executive that was revealed in a Tuesday securities filing, Mario Cibelli of Marathon Partners, Elf ’s largest outside investor, harped on Elf ’s discounted stock price.
“You and the board do not have the luxury of ignoring the share price and the company’s large discount to private market value. Given the wide discount, a sale of the company would be the most attractive outcome for shareholders at this time.”
Cibelli, who owns an 8.9 percent stake, had previously complained about Elf ’s management under board member Bill McGlashan, a Silicon Valley investor who got caught up in the college admissions scandal this spring.
As reported by The Post, Marathon in April demanded an investigation into whether McGlashan played a role in the company’s failure to promptly disclose violations of US sanctions against North Korea.
At the time, Marathon had raised concerns that McGlashan’s investment firm, TPG Growth, sold 5 million Elf shares in a 2017 secondary offering without disclosing to investors that Elf had used North Korean materials to make some of its eyelash kits — a violation it had meanwhile reported to regulators.
McGlashan, meanwhile, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he agreed to pay $250,000 for a fake football profile to get his son into the University of Southern California. Last month, prosecutors added the charge of wire fraud to his case.
When the charges were filed in March, McGlashan was replaced on Elf ’s board.
Tuesday was the first time Marathon has called for a sale of Elf as the only viable option.
TPG in August revealed it had sold about 30 percent of its remaining Elf position, leaving it with a still-leading 14.5 percent stake.
“We are committed to acting in the best interests of the company and all stockholders, and will continue to take actions to that end,” Elf said in a statement.