Samsung Electronics Co shares jumped to a record high on Thursday after activist investor Elliott Management submitted unsolicited proposals for a radical corporate makeover at the world’s biggest smartphone maker. An attempt by the U.S. hedge fund to wring change at South Korea’s biggest conglomerate last year failed in acrimony. But investors and analysts said Elliott’s latest move could open the way for the founding Lee family to embrace change, cementing its grip as it negotiates succession from its ailing patriarch to the next generation and a hefty inheritance tax bill.
The approach on Wednesday by Elliott, which owns 0.62 percent of Samsung Electronics, came as the tech giant faced fresh claims of problems with its flagship Note 7 smartphone, with a report that a handset began smoking inside a U.S. plane on Wednesday. Last month’s global recall of 2.5 million devices is set to show up in modest earnings growth guidance the firm is expected to report on Friday.
Samsung said it will “carefully review” Elliott proposals for restructuring, splitting the firm into a