GROUP TRIMS HEDGES

Want better pay

Twodozen protesters entered the lion’s den to disrupt an activist investors conference in Midtown Manhattan on Monday.

Protesters from a group called “HedgeClippers” walked into the Crowne Plaza Hotel ballroom, on the second floor, at about 1 p. m. and started chanting “Bill Ackman, give me $ 15,” a reference to the restaurant workers’ demand for a minimum wage of $ 15 an hour.

They marched across the ballroom, where more than 500 participants at the 13D Monitor’s ActivePassive Investor Summit were having lunch while listening to a management panel talk about fending off activists.

The protesters carried large orange signs saying “Dignity at Darden” and chanted the name of “Jeff Smith,” the head of hedge fund Starboard Value, who is chairman of the board of Darden.

Another chant was “hedge fund billionaires, pay your fair share!”

They mentioned Ackman for his Pershing Square Capital’s large investment in Burger King — now Restaurant Brands even though the hedge fund does not have board representation.

After about 10 minutes of disruption, the hotel announced over a loudspeaker, “The police have been called. Please vacate the premises.” The protesters did not stop.

Catherine Barnett, of the Restaurant Opportunity Centers, which was one of the participants in the protest, called the event “a success.” The protesters left after about 20 minutes.

Both Ackman and Smith spoke after the market closed.

Ackman didn’t address the protestors’ demands, but he dropped a bombshell of his own about his nearly 3yearold battle with Herbalife.

“Senior management has actually hired or is looking to hire their own criminal defense attorneys,” said Ackman, who added that the company’s lawyers at Boies Schiller and Gibson Dunn would want to keep that from happening “as long as possible.”

Ackman said the development may mean that “people are at risk of going to jail” and the “likelihood of a senior executive going rogue” becomes “much more likely.”

Ackman said the explosive information came from a “reliable source” whom he declined to name.

Ackman’s Herbalife short is underwater again, given a recent runup in its shares.

But the activist investor says the bet is “better than ever,” given these developments in the investigation.

Herbalife spokesman Alan Hoffman denied that top execs are looking for independent counsel.

“He may not know,” said Ackman. Herbalife shares were down 2. 26 percent, to close at $ 42.84.