Activist Legion Partners returned 35% in 2021

BOSTON (Reuters) - Activist investment firm Legion Partners, which last year was part of a group that settled for three board seats at retailer Kohl's Corp, told clients that its fund returned nearly 35% after fees in 2021, two sources said.

The gains were fueled, in part by investments in Vonage Holdings Corp which sold itself last year for $21 a share. Legion had reached a settlement with the company in 2019 to add a director to the board and had been working behind the scenes.

Legion's 2021 returns beat the benchmark HFRI Activist Index' 19% return, as record setting market gains helped investors.

The firm, headquartered in Los Angeles, manages roughly $500 million in assets and is well known for having been part of a group that took on Bed Bath & Beyond and settled for four new independent directors in 2019.

Last year, Legion's portfolio companies added 11 new directors to their boards. The firm has placed a heavy emphasis on corporate governance, gender and racial diversity. More than 44% of all the directors Legion has helped place on boards have been women.

Legion was co-founded by Christopher Kiper and Ted White 2012.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Bernard Orr)