That put an end to a fierce fight that had both sides making last minute concessions to win over shareholders. John Pike, a senior portfolio manager at Elliott, said he welcomed Hess's "refreshed board." Elliott also pushed for the sale of BMC Software, which had long been seen as an attractive takeover target. Earlier this month, private equity firms Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital led the buyout of BMC for nearly $7 billion. Elliott portfolio manager Jesse Cohn was quoted in the BMC press release about the sale, which is notable because other companies that are the target of activists don't always acknowledge them. Cohn was also quoted in an April press release for telecommunications hardware and software maker Emulex, which took on two board directors supported by Elliott. In January, Elliott made an offer to acquire software firm Compuware, which the company rejected. But Compuware is now exploring a sale, which will still benefit Elliott, since it's a large shareholder in the firm.