Yellow’s New Top Shareholder Is Also XPO’s Biggest Investor

It requires a hearty investor to pour nearly $23 million into a company battling a labor dispute and teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.

But all of the risk that less-than-truckload logistics firm
Yellow
(ticker: YELL) has recently faced hasn’t put off MFN Partners Management, which went from owning no shares to becoming the company’s largest shareholder in about 20 days.

The Boston-based investment firm began buying Yellow stock on July 10, the same day the company gained a reprieve from lenders for more time to negotiate with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and to streamline operations.

Through July 31, MFN bought a total of 22 million Yellow shares for $22.5 million, at an average price of $1.02 each, according to forms the firm filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

MFN didn’t respond to a request for comment. Its stockholdings give MFN a 42.5% stake in Yellow. MFN is now Yellow’s top shareholder, with the Treasury Department in second with 15.9 million shares.

Interestingly, MFN’s SEC filings show that it is also the largest investor in Yellow competitor
XPO
(XPO), in which it holds an 11% stake.

The news surrounding Yellow hasn’t gotten better, but MFN’s stock purchases have lifted shares. Yellow has already shut down operations.

MFN’s SEC filings also show investments in car dealer
Lithia Motors
(LITH) and
PennyMac Financial Services
(PFSI), a financial-services firm where MFN co-founder Farhad Nanji serves as a director.

Inside Scoop is a regular Barron’s feature covering stock transactions by corporate executives and board members—so-called insiders—as well as large shareholders, politicians, and other prominent figures. Due to their insider status, these investors are required to disclose stock trades with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory groups.

Write to Ed Lin at [email protected] and follow @BarronsEdLin.

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