GameStop Corp. is facing a renewed threat from a group of shareholders upset with the videogame retailer’s performance, the Wall Street Journal reported. A group including Hestia Capital Partners LP and Permit Capital Enterprise Fund LP sent a letter to the Grapevine, Texas, company’s board, urging it to appoint a stockholder representative as a director. The investors collectively own about 7.5 percent of GameStop’s shares, up from roughly 1.3 percent at this point last year. At that time, the group called for the company to refresh its board and boost stock buybacks, and threatened a proxy fight if they were rebuffed. GameStop went on to name a new chief executive and Hestia and Permit entered a cooperation agreement with the company in April. As part of the agreement, the company said that it would appoint an independent director from among candidates nominated by the investor group. In return, the group agreed to refrain from publicly expressing concerns with the company until Thursday. In that period, the shares have lost more than half of their value as sales and revenue have fallen. GameStop shareholders have lost 85 percent of their investment in the past five years, the group wrote.
