T. Rowe Price Investment Management to back Starboard in Autodesk proxy fight, source says

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss

NEW YORK, April 14 (Reuters) - T. Rowe Price Investment Management, one of Autodesk's ADSK.O biggest investors, plans to vote for activist investor Starboard Value's director nominees in a boardroom challenge at the software-design company, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management owned 1.08% of Autodesk's stock at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024 and ranked as its 14th biggest holder, according to LSEG data.

The source, who was not permitted to speak publicly about the decision, did not provide a reason for backing Starboard or why a decision had been made months before the vote in June and even before final proxy materials have been filed with regulators.

T. Rowe Price and Autodesk representatives declined to comment while a representative for Starboard could not be immediately reached for comment.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management is part of the T. Rowe Price Group TROW.O mutual fund complex, which oversees $1.6 trillion in assets. It is separate, however, from T. Rowe Price Associates, which owned 2.21% of Autodesk stock and ranked as the seventh biggest holder at the end of last year, according to LSEG data.

The two entities were split three years ago to give portfolio managers more flexibility in making investment decisions. T. Rowe Price Associates has not made a decision on how it will vote, the person familiar with the matter said.

Starboard last month nominated three candidates, including its chief executive, after criticizing the company for underperformance.

The boardroom fight at Autodesk is one of the year's most high-profile proxy contests after several companies and their corporate agitators settled differences amid market uncertainty. This week chipmaker Qorvo QRVO.O, also under pressure from Starboard, added two newcomers to its board, and last week Ancora Holdings ended its proxy fight at U.S. Steel X.N.