Eric Singer - Small-Cap Tech Activist
At the helm of Universal Electronics
We first came across Eric Singer, Viex Capital Advisors and Immersion while researching the remote control manufacturer Universal Electronics (UEIC), in which Singer together with partners controls 12 % of the shares. This piece is part of our “Major Shareholder” portrait series – which features research on investors with the potential to influence the outcome of deep value situations.
Singer (52) started his career at WisdomTree Asset Management with Jonathan Steinberg, son of the corporate raider Saul Steinberg. Later he was a senior investment analyst at Riley Investment Management. He founded VIEX Capital Advisors in 2014 and has built a long track record as an activist investor in the technology sector. VIEX as an activist firm appears to have wound down with Singer’s managing member role ending in 2022, and his focus now is primarily on leadership roles within Immersion Corp (IMMR) and other public companies. Before IMMR, Singer was on 11 public boards, 7 of which was acquired within a year (!) – seems like a great partner to have on as a shareholder.
Immersion/Viex Discloses 12% Stake and Activist Intent at Universal Electronics
In mid-2023, UEIC disclosed that Immersion Corporation’s (IMMR) investment arm (Toro 18 Holdings), led by Eric Singer, had accumulated roughly a 10-12% stake (1.5m shares) in the company. By December 2023, Singer entered into a cooperation agreement with UEIC: he was appointed to the board and the agreement also gave IMMR the right to add a second director after the 2025 annual meeting.
Singer and his partners argued that UEIC’s shares were deeply undervalued. By mid-2023, the stock price traded between $8 and $11. Singer increased his stake with open-market purchases in May 2025, personally buying at between $6.70 and $7.00. Today the price is $3.82 and it is down 66% from 1yH and 94% from 5yH. The current P/TB is 0.41 and the stock has only traded below 0.50x TB during 3% of the trading days since 2012.
Following Singer’s involvement, UEIC began implementing measures to unlock value. The company streamlined costs (operating expenses were cut, contributing to a much smaller net debt of $3.6m by 1Q25, and refocused on its higher-growth Connected Home segment (which grew 31% year-on-year that quarter). By April 2025, long-time Chairman Paul Arling announced his departure (been in the company since 1996 at various roles over time – CFO, CEO and finally chairman), and Eric Singer assumed the role of Chairman.
Background and Activist Strategy
His approach centers on small- and mid-cap tech companies that are trading at depressed valuations or facing strategic crossroads. Singer’s modus operandi is to accumulate meaningful minority stakes (often 3-12%) and then engage actively with management and boards to catalyze changes that unlock shareholder value. These initiatives can range from operational improvements and cost realignments to balance sheet optimizations (debt reduction, share buybacks or special dividends) and exploring strategic alternatives such as mergers, asset sales, or even a sale of the company.
Singers typically seek board representation - either via negotiated settlements or proxy contests - to directly influence a company’s direction. He often works with a repeat team of seasoned operators (for example, veteran tech executive John Mutch has been a frequent board ally in Singer’s campaigns. With a seat at the table, Singer advocates for shareholder-friendly policies and will agitate for change if he meets resistance. As an activist, he has shown both persistence and creativity: he is willing to launch proxy fights to replace directors, but also to strike cooperation deals or even assume executive roles when necessary. Crucially, Singer is known for an acute focus on capital allocation and efficiency. In many cases, he has pushed companies to cut excess costs, monetize non-core assets, return cash to shareholders, or pursue value-maximizing transactions.
Singer’s current platform, Immersion’s Toro 18 Holdings, exemplifies this strategy. Toro 18 serves as the activist investment arm of IMMR, targeting undervalued tech businesses and building significant positions to engage in activism. Singer runs this effort alongside partner William C. Martin (of Raging Capital fame), with whom he shares decision-making on investments and engagements. This structure allowed Singer to leverage Immersion’s balance sheet to take stakes in companies like Universal Electronics and others, effectively turning Immersion into a hybrid operating-and-investment vehicle. Singer’s overarching goal is consistent across these endeavors: surface the intrinsic value of overlooked companies, by instilling better governance, financial discipline, and strategic foresight.
Notable Activist Campaigns
Singer’s activist career spans numerous technology companies over the past decade. Below we highlight several campaigns that illustrate his modus operandi and impact:
Quantum Corporation (2016–2017): One of Singer’s boldest campaigns was at data storage provider Quantum Corp. (QMCO) Singer’s VIEX accumulated a 10% stake and lambasted Quantum’s leadership for destroying shareholder value. In early 2017, he launched a proxy fight that resulted in a landmark settlement to replace a majority of Quantum’s board with new independent directors. This activism, aided by legal pressure, led to the ouster of Quantum’s long-time CEO and a reset of strategy. The campaign aimed to reverse years of underperformance.
Support.com (2016-2021): Through his fund VIEX Capital Advisors, Singer launched a successful activist campaign against Support.com (SPRT) – a at the time well-known deep value name. VIEX criticized the company’s weak performance and governance, leading to a proxy contest that resulted in Singer and four VIEX-nominated directors winning board seats, giving the fund effective control of the board. The campaign later ended with a merger between Support.com and Greenidge Generation Holdings - which created the NASDAQ-listed Greenidge (ticker GREE).
Immersion Corporation (2018 & 2023 to present): Immersion (IMMR), a haptics technology licensing company, has been both a target of Singer’s activism and eventually the base of his operations. In 2018, VIEX waged a proxy campaign at IMMR, criticizing heavy R&D spending and lackluster revenue. Singer forced his way onto the board via a settlement - part of an agreement in May 2018 to add him and an ally as directors. Fast-forward to 2023: Singer took the reins as CEO and Chairman of IMMR.
He swiftly implemented a more shareholder-focused regime - cutting back on R&D programs, slashing costs, and initiating cash returns. Under Singer, IMMR began issuing quarterly dividends and investing surplus cash into undervalued external opportunities. In effect, he repositioned IMMR as a lean, profit-generating licensing business and an investment vehicle. Notably, Immersion deployed capital into Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) in 2024, seizing a 42% controlling stake at a steep discount during BNED’s distress.
A10 Networks (2019–Present): In 2019, Singer’s VIEX took aim at A10 Networks, a network hardware and security company. He joined A10’s board in mid-2019 and later became Lead Independent Director by 2021. With Singer advocating behind the scenes, A10 undertook changes that improved its performance - including cost management and a focus on profitability. By 2021, A10 had initiated its first-ever dividend and was delivering improved earnings.
PLX Technology (2013–2014): In a campaign that has become somewhat infamous in governance circles, Singer (then at Potomac Capital) won board seats at PLX Technology, a semiconductor company, and soon pushed for a sale of the business. PLX was ultimately sold to Avago in 2014 at a premium of about 9%. However, the process raised eyebrows. A Delaware court later found that Singer, as a PLX director, received the buyer’s pricing indications through a banker contact and failed to share this with the full board. The court held that this constituted a breach of fiduciary duty by Singer and fellow directors, although no monetary damages were awarded.
Numerex Corp. (2016–2017): Singer’s activism often targeted companies in the tech and telecom niche. In early 2016, he reached a settlement with Numerex, an IoT communications firm, to join its board. Over the next year, Singer pushed for strategic alternatives as Numerex struggled with losses. The outcome was that Numerex agreed to be acquired by Sierra Wireless in mid-2017 – a deal that provided an exit for shareholders (albeit at a modest premium given Numerex’s distressed state). This was a textbook Singer maneuver: get on the board, then drive a process to merge or sell the underperforming company to a larger player. A similar script played out in other engagements like Meru Networks (where Singer joined the board in 2014 and the company was sold to Fortinet in 2015) and YuMe, Inc. (Singer chaired the video ad tech firm and helped facilitate its 2017 sale to RhythmOne). In each case, Singer’s involvement signaled that M&A was on the table, and indeed these companies were consolidated, often bringing shareholders a realizable return after periods of stagnation.
Barnes & Noble Education (2024): One of Singer’s more recent and striking initiatives is his rescue of Barnes & Noble Education, a struggling college bookstore operator. Rather than a direct VIEX campaign, Singer executed this via Immersion Corp’s investment discussed above. When BNED was on the brink due to a debt maturity wall, IIMR (under Singer) provided a lifeline by investing at a deep discount, ending up with 42% ownership. Singer joined BNED’s board in mid-2024. His plan for BNED likely involves aggressive restructuring (similar to his past playbook: cost cuts, asset sales, or new strategic partners) to turn the company around and eventually monetize IMMR’s stake at a much higher value. The BNED case demonstrates Singer’s flexibility in activism: he is not just an agitator but can act as a white knight investor, deploying capital when others won’t, with the conviction that patient changes can yield outsized rewards.
KVH Industries (2021): Singer’s penchant for challenging entrenched management was evident in his fight at KVH, a maker of navigation and satellite communication systems. In 2021, VIEX launched a proxy contest to elect Singer and an ally to KVH’s board, arguing that the company had lost money for years and required new oversight. The campaign turned bitter, with KVH’s board citing the PLX case and alleging he had been ‘censured’ - a characterization not supported by the Delaware ruling. Ultimately Singer did not prevail in adding himself to KVH’s board
Despite the loss, Singer’s pressure may have influenced KVH indirectly - the company later made governance changes and divested a division, steps that activists had urged. Even when unsuccessful, Singer’s campaigns often put underperforming boards on notice and catalyze improvements.
Overall, Singer has emerged as a significant activist in the small-cap tech universe, with a string of engagements where he has either unlocked immediate value or set companies on a path to realizing their potential. His style combines classic value investing principles (identify undervalued assets) with activist tools (board seats, strategic re-focus, M&A). Importantly, Singer is willing to wear multiple hats - activist shareholder, board member, or even executive – to see his thesis play out. This adaptability, along with a network of like-minded investors and operators, makes Singer a formidable presence in any underperforming tech company’s shareholder list.
For UEIC and others now under Singer’s watch, the coming years will test whether his interventions can indeed surface the hidden value he sees. If his past record is any guide, Singer will persist until the market rewards those efforts - or he’ll engineer an outcome (like a sale or restructuring) that does. In the realm of deep value and technology activism, Eric Singer has proven to be both a catalyst and a closer, bridging the gap between a struggling present and a potentially brighter future for shareholders.
Sources:
Universal Electronics director Eric Singer buys $47,832 in stock By Investing.com
Universal Electronics Appoints Immersion CEO Eric Singer As Independent Director | Nasdaq
Eric Singer: Positions, Relations and Network - MarketScreener
A10 Networks, Inc. - Governance - Board of Directors - Person Details
Will KVH Shareholder Tarnish a Great Year for Activism? - CorpGov
White-knight investors or capitalist cannibals? VIEX vexes Quantum
Quantum CEO exits as scale-out storage rescue fails - The Register
Olshan Client VIEX Capital Advisors Reaches Agreement with
Meru Networks Appoints Eric Singer and Stephen Domenik to Board of Directors - Benzinga
Eric Singer - BNED Investor Relations - Barnes and Noble Education