(Reuters) -Chipmaker Qorvo (NASDAQ:QRVO) said on Monday it will nominate activist investor Starboard Value’s managing member Peter Feld to its board, ending a boardroom battle as the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) supplier’s stock shows signs of recovery.
Stiff competition and a shift in demand towards entry-tier smartphones pushed Qorvo shares down about 38% last year. However, the possibility of winning additional chip contracts with major customer Apple has sent shares up more than 10% this year.
In April, Starboard said it delivered a letter to Qorvo, nominating Feld for election to the board and increased its stake in the company to about 8.9%.
This holding is valued at over $600 million, based on Qorvo’s market capitalization of about $7.44 billion at the previous close.
Feld is a managing member, portfolio manager, and head of research at Starboard.
Earlier in April, Qorvo appointed former NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) CEO Richard Clemmer and Marvell (NASDAQ:MRVL) Technology COO Christopher Koopmans as independent directors.
Starboard’s stake in the chipmaker was first disclosed in a filing in January, at about 7.7% then, estimated to be worth over $500 million at that time.
The Jeffrey Smith-led hedge fund is one of the world’s most prominent activist investors and has pushed for changes at firms including Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Salesforce (NYSE:CRM).