Sotheby's braces for new shareholder fight

New York

SOTHEBY'S may find itself in a new shareholder fight even as its battle with billionaire investor Daniel Loeb and search for a new chief executive officer proved costly in 2014.

The New York-based auction house said on Monday that profit fell 9 per cent in 2014 as expenses increased. Net income fell to US$117.8 million, or US$1.69 a share in the 12 months ended Dec 31, from US$130 million, or US$1.90 a share in the same period last year, Sotheby's said on Monday in a statement.

Mr Loeb spent months criticising Sotheby's and its chief executive officer William Ruprecht about cutting costs and increasing shareholder value. The fight ended…