A long, contentious spat between the activist hedge fund Corvex Management and CommonWealth REIT, a real estate investment trust, took another twist on Thursday, as the founder of Corvex, Keith Meister, declined an invitation to join the CommonWealth board.
Mr. Meister, a former deputy of Carl C. Icahn, has been working to shake up CommonWealth for nearly a year now, criticizing the structure of the company and the amount of fees paid to its controlling family, the Portnoys.
Corvex is working with Related Fund Management, part of the Related Companies real estate group, which is developing the Hudson Yards project in Midtown Manhattan. Together, the two firms own 9.6 percent of CommonWealth shares. Last year, they ran a consent solicitation process to remove the board, and claim to have had the support of the majority of shareholders. But the vote was invalidated on technical grounds.
Instead of joining the board, Mr. Meister pledged to continue his campaign to replace the existing slate of directors, and, with Related, announced the nomination of five new directors.
“Our slate of truly independent, accountable trustees will enable us to achieve our sole goal from the beginning â€" ceasing the value destruction caused by the Portnoys and enabling CommonWealth shareholders to take back their company,†Mr. Meister and Jeff T. Blau, the chief executive of Related, said in a statement.
With Mr. Meister declining the invitation to join the board, CommonWealth said it would look for other nominees.
“The CommonWealth Board is disappointed that Keith Meister of Corvex declined our invitation to join the board and work with us constructively for the benefit of all CWH shareholders,†the company said in a statement. “Corvex’s response is further evidence that Corvex and the Related Companies are pursuing a hostile takeover of CWH for their own benefit and are not committed to advancing the best interests of and creating value for all CWH shareholders.â€
