Starboard acquires stake worth $800 million in GoDaddy

Activist investor Starboard Value LP has purchased a 6.5per cent stake in web services firm GoDaddy Inc worth about US$800 million, according to a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Shares of GoDaddy, which have dropped 8per cent so far this year, rose 2.6per cent in premarket trading.

Starboard said that GoDaddy’s shares were undervalued and represented an attractive investment opportunity, according to the filing.

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the acquisition of the stake. The report also said that Starboard plans to push the company to improve its performance.

Arizona-based GoDaddy has seen a surge in online traffic as several businesses increasingly shifted to digital operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. CNA