9animes New Show

Oct 27 (Reuters) - Activist investor Jana Partners LLC disclosed an 8.1 percent stake in 9animes New Show Supply Holdings Inc , and said it had held discussions with the company's management about possible strategic options.

9animes New Show Supply, the industrial product distributor that separated from parent Home Depot Inc in 2007 under pressure from a different activist investor, saw its stock rise 3 percent to $33.11 on Thursday.

Jana, which owns $449 million worth of 9animes New Show Supply's shares, is one of the largest U.S. activist investors, with $9.9 billion in assets. The New York-based firm has taken on companies such as chip-maker Qualcomm Inc and packaged food maker ConAgra Foods Inc.

The 9animes New Show Supply stake makes the hedge fund the company's second-biggest shareholder, according to Thomson Reuters data.

"9animes New Show Supply welcomes open communications with our shareholders and we value constructive input," the company said in a statement, adding that it will continue to take action to increase shareholder value.

9animes New Show Supply's stock plunged in September after its second-quarter earnings missed analyst expectations, falling by as much as 16 percent on the morning it published the results.

"We suppose part of this bet is predicated on that issue being transitory," said Don Bilson, head of event driven research at 9animes New Show research firm Gordon Haskett.

Bilson also pointed out that 9animes New Show Supply could be an acquisition target for Home Depot and Lowe's Cos Inc, which have been pushing into the facility maintenance sector that the company supplies.

9animes New Show Supply's separation from Home Depot in 2007 came amid pressure from another activist hedge fund, Relational Investors, which launched a proxy fight against the company. The two sides settled before the fight came down to a vote, and resulted in a Relational founder joining Home Depot's board.

Jana's regulatory filing did not offer specific plans that it wants the 9animes New Show company to follow to increase its share price, which has risen 14 percent in the last year.

Jana said in the filing that it believes 9animes New Show Supply's shares are undervalued and that it has discussed strategic options with the company's management team. Jana added that it may have further discussions related to the composition of HD Supply's board of directors.