Five9 has confirmed that Sagar Gupta of Anson Funds has been appointed to the company’s Board of Directors, effective immediately.
Gupta currently serves as the Portfolio Manager and Head of Active Engagement at Anson Funds, a privately held alternative asset management company that amassed a significant stake in Five9 back in July.
At the time, it was reported that the deal might involve a board seat for an Anson executive, with those rumors having now been substantiated.
According to Reuters, Anson’s decision to increase its stake in the company was part of a plan to pressure the CCaaS vendor into selling up.
Meanwhile, a similar deal was struck in October with activist investor Legion Partners.
Like Anson, Legion has increased its stake in Five9, with the investor allegedly also eyeing up a board seat and hoping to introduce cost-cutting measures.
While Five9 has not commented on the size of either stake or whether the company is up for sale, from the outside looking in, the activist investors appear to be making their presence felt.
A Rollercoaster 12 Months at Five9
The most recent whispers of a potential sale first surfaced in December of last year, with Zoom named as one of the companies rumored to be in the conversation.
However, Five9 quickly quashed those murmurs, going against its own general policy to deny the claims.
In an official statement at the time, the company said: "Five9 was approached with such an opportunity; however, Five9 is not pursuing any such acquisition."
Since then, Five9’s share price has tumbled 47 percent year-to-date (YoY), despite continued double-digit revenue growth in a crowded market.
In response to the stock price drop, earlier this summer, the company announced that it was aiming to drive "shareholder value" by laying off approximately 180 employees by the end of 2024.
Thankfully, the company’s share price has since shown signs of improvement. Indeed, it's up by over 35 percent from October 1.
Moreover, there have been other bright spots throughout the year.