CommonWealth REIT  today struck back at an attempt to have its trustees removed, filing preliminary consent revocation materials with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in an attempt to block an effort by Corvex Management LP and Related Fund Management LLC to change its leadership.

CommonWealth warned its shareholders that federal securities law requires their blocking attempt to be reviewed by the SEC before Corvex and Related could call a shareholder vote on the trustee issue, and urged them to "take no action at this time with respect to the possible consent solicitation."

The CommonWealth board "believes that a wholesale removal of the company’s trustees without cause is not in the best interest of the company and would bring material harm and disruption to the business and operations of the company," the firm wrote in a statement. The existing team "is successfully executing on CommonWealth’s business plan," it added. 

The board noted that Corvex and Related are asking CommonWealth shareholders to relinquish control of the Company without committing to pay a control premium, or even any amount, for the outstanding CommonWealth common shares.

"We are confident that we will continue to prevail in court, and we look forward to engaging with investors and analysts in the weeks ahead to discuss why the removal of all CommonWealth’s Trustees without cause would not be in the best interests of the company," the board’s statement concludes.