ASMI investor says give options to managers-report

AMSTERDAM, April 22 (Reuters) - Activist shareholders in Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASM International (ASMI.AS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (ASMI.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said they can boost its value by 1 billion euros ($1.6 billion) by giving more equity to top managers, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

A tenth of that additional value would be set aside for 100 of ASMI's top managers, Financieele Dagblad quoted Hermes Focus Asset Management funds manager Wouter Rosingh as saying. Hermes and Fursa Alternative Strategies are seeking to sack ASMI Chief Executive Chuck del Prado and five supervisory board members, spurred into action by AMSI's underperforming front-end unit which makes machines for the early stages of chip production.

They said only new leadership could help the company reach its full potential. The top 100 managers at ASMI should be given new equity in the company to replace worthless options, they said, according to the newspaper.

Hermes manages the BT Pension Scheme, which last week raised its ASMI stake to 15 percent from 10 percent via its custodian trustees BriTel Fund Trustees Ltd. Fursa owns about 10 percent of ASMI.

Their proposal to ditch the chief executive is on the agenda of ASMI's annual shareholders meeting, scheduled for May 21.

"We want to show that we do not just pay lip service to changes, we want to risk our neck and give out money," Rosingh told the newspaper.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)