By Stockpickr Staff
Posted at 11:27 a.m. on March 11, 2009

A company can blame its poor financial performance on a slowing economy, world politics -- even the weather. But an investor with a large economic position in the company can hold the company accountable by turning to shareholder activism as a way to increase shareholder value.

Despite the worst bear market since the 1930s, activist investors such as Warren Buffett , Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management and Carl Icahn are still finding attractive valuations on both the long and short sides of the equity market.

At Stockpickr, we follow the latest activist situations for investors interested in piggybacking of these activist investors.

New York-based hedge fund advisor Spencer Capital, a fund that specializes in deep-value investing, issued a press release announcing its intention to seek to restructure Trident Microsystems' board of directors by putting forth a slate of candidates for election at the next annual meeting.

Trident Microsystems, a $1.49 stock with a market cap of $93.7 million, is involved with the development and manufacturing of integrated circuits associated with digital TV and liquid crystal displays. Trident is actually trading for below its cash on hand. The company has $212 million in cash, or $3.37 per share, and zero debt. While it's not profitable, Trident did have revenue of $150 million in 2008.

In other news, the saga between Dialectic Capital Management and California Micro Devices (CAMD) continues. Dialectic, which currently owns 8.6% of California Micro, nominated four people for election to the company's board in hopes of maximizing shareholder value.

Since the start of 2009, Dialectic Capital has filed several notable documents relating to California Micro. In early January it asked the current board to hire B. Riley, a boutique investment bank, to help the company explore alternatives. Dialectic also requested the issue of a special $1.42-per-share dividend to all shareholders, and it asked management to remove several misguided strategies that Dialectic believes have hurt shareholder value.

California Micro has zero debt and a stated market capitalization of $46.9 million, with $48 million in cash sitting in the bank, which equates to $2.09 in cash per share. For full-year 2008, California Micro reported revenue of $55.12 million dollars. It was recently trading at $2.03.

DellaCamera Capital has nominated two people for election to CuraGen's (CRGN) board at the company’s next annual meeting.

On Feb. 18, CuraGen Corp said it is “undertaking a review of a broad range of strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value," including acquiring additional assets or putting itself up for sale. CuraGen has hired an investment bank to assist the board with its strategic review.

On March 3, Life Science Research (LSR) chairman and CEO Andrew Baker submitted a nonbinding proposal to acquire Life Science Research for $7.50 per share. Recently, Life Science was trading at $6.87, offering investors about a 13% arbitrage opportunity between the current market price and the offer price from Andrew Baker.

On March 5, Kistefos, a Norwegian private-equity fund, nominated two people for election to Trico Marine Services' (TRMA) at the board's next annual meeting.

Despite his losing 93% of its initial investment, Bill Ackman's Pershing Square IV, which invests only in Target (TGT), is seeking to obtain several seats on the company's board.

For more activist news, check out the Latest Activist Filings portfolio on Stockpickr.

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