Emancipating Captaris?

Information delivery services company Captaris Inc. is probably not that excited about the information that was delivered to them by Emancipation Capital LP on Thursday.

The New York-based activist fund reported in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that the company should form an independent committee to explore “strategic alternatives,” to improve share value. Those are often code words that mean: find a buyer or issue a special dividend.

“In the ordinary course of their investment business, from time to time, representatives of [Emancipation Capital] engage in discussions with the management of companies in which they have invested concerning the business and operations of such companies and
potential approaches to maximizing shareholder value,” the activists wrote in a filing.

Emancipation Capital reported owning a 5.1% stake in Captaris, which has a $91 million stock market capitalization. In addition to information delivery services, Captaris manages documents electronically and develops software products. -- Ron Orol