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Third Point's **$127M** Strata stake prices a summer sale process at **8-9x** EBITDA unless board seats materialize by late February.
8.3%
position in Strata Critical Medical on Monday
$127 million
position marks Third Point's first disclosed activist campaign in…
2021
intervention at Baxter International
$420 million
trailing revenue and operates
Third Point Partners disclosed an 8.3% position in Strata Critical Medical on Monday, pairing the stake announcement with a public letter demanding board representation and consideration of strategic alternatives including an outright sale. The $127 million position marks Third Point's first disclosed activist campaign in the medical device sector since its 2021 intervention at Baxter International.
Strata Critical manufactures spinal and orthopedic implant systems with $420 million trailing revenue and operates 17 manufacturing facilities across North America and Europe. Third Point's letter, signed by managing partner Daniel Loeb, argues the company trades at 4.2x EBITDA against sector comparables averaging 9.1x, citing underinvestment in direct sales infrastructure and delayed FDA submissions for next-generation cervical plates. The letter names three specific operational deficiencies: a 22-month product approval backlog, distribution agreements that cede 38% gross margins to third parties, and capital allocation that prioritized dividends over R&D during the post-pandemic device shortage.
The market read this as sale-imminent rather than fix-and-hold. Strata shares rose 17% intraday before settling 12% higher, valuing the company at $1.51 billion. That move prices in modest acquisition premium but stops short of full takeout speculation, suggesting allocators expect either a negotiated board settlement or a 90-day strategic review culminating in a summer sale process. Third Point's letter requests two board seats and a commitment to retain Centerview Partners for a formal alternatives evaluation by end of Q2.
The timing matters for two reasons. First, Strata's largest institutional holder, Fidelity Select Medical Devices (11.2% stake), rotated $84 million out of the position during Q4 according to 13F filings, creating the liquidity window Third Point used to build its stake without moving the stock. Second, the medical device M&A market reopened in January after 18 months of financing drought—Stryker's $3.1 billion acquisition of Vocera Communications in December and Zimmer Biomet's $2.7 billion purchase of LivaNova's neuromodulation unit last month both closed at 8x-10x EBITV multiples, establishing the valuation band Loeb's letter explicitly references.
Operators should watch three developments. Strata's board meets February 18th and typically announces director nominations within 48 hours of quarterly meetings, so any Third Point accommodation surfaces before month-end. The FDA's 510(k) clearance database will show whether Strata accelerates pending submissions for its Atlas-7 cervical system, currently 9 months overdue per Third Point's appendix. And Centerview's engagement letter, if signed, becomes public through an 8-K filing within 4 business days, telegraphing whether management capitulates to the review process or forces a proxy fight.
Strata's next earnings call is March 4th. Management has not yet responded to Third Point's letter. The 90-day clock Loeb referenced starts from the February 10th filing date, placing the response deadline in early May, two weeks before the company's annual meeting.
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For the principal
Strata likely sells by July if board resists; medical device comps support $2.1B exit valuation, 40% above Friday close.
For the operator
Watch for Centerview 8-K by February 20th; absence means proxy fight, presence means sale process, board seats mean long hold.
For the house
Huang Goodman initiated 2.1% Strata position Tuesday morning via convertible arb desk; targets 22% upside to $1.85B takeout base case.
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