Activist Bondholders

Because bondholders have a fixed claim on assets and no vote in company operations, they tend to be passive investors in companies. However, a new type of investor, the net-short bondholder, has become more prevalent. A net-short bondholder will buy a bond and at the same time take a larger short position in the same company's bonds. A short position benefits when the asset value decreases. Thus, the investor will lose in the long position but gain a larger amount in the short position. The investor will then implement a claim if the company violates any covenant. For example, Aurelius Capital Management took a net-short position in Windstream's corporate debt and then claimed a violation of a covenant two years prior. Windstream had even undertaken actions to satisfy bondholders that held the bonds when the violation occurred. In short, companies now must be even more careful when writing covenants for bonds.