Active Investor seeks Steven Madden Sale?

Activist investor Clinton Group Inc. expanded its campaign at Steven Madden Inc. on Friday, praising the shoe retailer for setting up a strategic review committee but hinting that perhaps a sale to a strategic or financial buyer might be in the best interest of the company.
According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Clinton Group sent a letter to Steven Madden chairman and CEO Jamieson A. Karson on Friday outlining a number of ideas for improving shareholder value. The activist investor hiked its stake to 6.1% from 5.1% and reiterated that a leveraged stock repurchase would “improve the efficiency of [Steven Madden’s] capital structure and create immediate accretion for shareholders.”
But Clinton Group also said it wasn’t “wedded” to any one particular approach for improving shareholder value. Another strategy, it wrote, could be to auction of the business.
“We would support a sale of the company if the acquisition price reflected Steve Madden’s promising, long-term business prospects. We believe that a sale at the right price could be the sensible culmination of years of hard work that has made Steve Madden the strong operating franchise and best-in-class brand it is today. We think there are potentially multiple buyers who would be interested in the company. Steve Madden may be a logical target for a strategic buyer interested in diversifying its footwear portfolio, or a financial buyer who could steward growth in a flexible, private context,” Clinton Group wrote in its letter.
But the Clinton Group went to extra lengths to explain that their effort at Steven Madden was not a hostile campaign. According to the fund’s letter, Clinton Group looks forward to “working constructively” with the board and strategic review committee.
The Clinton Group campaign follows up on another activist insurgency that was initiated by James Mitarotonda and his Barington Capital Group LP in New York. Barington launched a public campaign to “maximize value of shareholders” in 2004, but has since cashed out.