Bisys Holder Seeks Board Seat

Turkish money manager Ahmet Okumus is seeking a seat on Bisys Group's(BSG Quote) board.

The manager has been accumulating shares in Bisys, a provider of outsourcing services for the financial services sector, via his investment firm Okumus Capital. He disclosed a 10.6% stake in Bisys in a 13-D filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday.

Okumus submitted a letter Friday requesting a board seat, according to the SEC filing. Calls to Okumus were not returned.

Amy Conti, an investor relations representative at Bisys, says the board will review the portfolio manager's request but provided no timetable for such a meeting. "We value our shareholders. We have the letter and are considering it," she says.

Roseland, N.J.-based Bisys has been considering selling itself since August, when it hired Bear Stearns as an adviser. The stock has ranged from a 52-week high of $16.48 last April to a 52-week low of $7.92 in August. It recently was down 3 cents to $11.54.

A.G. Edwards analyst Timothy Willi cut his rating on the stock to sell from hold last week. The downgrade was tied to the belief that Bisys would not be able to fetch a high price in a sale, Willi wrote in a research note, as well as weaker-than-expected earnings.

Okumus accumulated Bisys shares from Feb. 28 through March 14 at prices between $12.04 and $13.34 a share. He now has a beneficial interest representing about 12.62 million shares.

A handful of other investment shops hold significant shares in Bisys, including BlackRock Investment Management and Tudor Investment.