Four years after injecting $2.5 billion into E*Trade Financial Corp (ETFC.O), its biggest investor is pressing the mortgage-plagued online brokerage to put itself up for sale. Citadel LLC, a powerful hedge fund with a 9.8 percent stake in E*Trade, called on Wednesday for a special shareholder meeting to consider hiring an investment bank that will explore strategic options for the online broker and bank company. News of the push from Citadel founder Kenneth Griffin sent E*Trade shares surging 14 percent to $14.72 on Wednesday, raising the company's market value to about $4.2 billion. "Since November of 2007, the board has continually failed to act in the best interest of E*Trade shareholders," Citadel' Chief Legal Officer Adam Cooper wrote in a letter to E*Trade Chief Executive Steven Freiberg. "Having endured nearly four years of value destruction and lost opportunity, we believe it is time for a change."
E*TRADE Financial Corporation (E*TRADE) is a financial services company, which provides online brokerage and related products and services to the individual retail investors, under the brand E*TRADE Financial. Shares of ETFC traded higher by 13.67% or $1.77/share to $14.72. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $12.24 and as high as $18.13. On average, 4578140 shares of ETFC exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 32630592.
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