Apria’s No. 1 Shareholder Now Commands 13.4%

Relational Investors LLC, the largest shareholder of Apria Healthcare Group Inc., raised its stake in the Costa Mesa home health care provider to 13.4%, from 9.9%.

The investment partnership and affiliates most recently bought Apria shares for $3.80 to $5.56 each from Oct. 26 to Nov. 19, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

San Diego-based Relational, which now holds 6.92 million shares of Apria, is known for investing in undervalued stocks and trying to turn the companies around through board changes or proxy battles.

Apria has undergone a number of changes this year. Apria Chairman Ralph Whitworth, a managing member of the Relational group, ended a fruitless search for a buyer in the spring and replaced most of the company’s board. In August, the company fired 80 employees as part of a cost-cutting program to make Apria profitable by mid-1999.

Monday, Apria shares fell 6 cents to $5.88. The stock is down more than 56% so far this year.