(Bloomberg) -- Activist investor Starboard Value said it’s built a stake in Autodesk Inc. valued at more than $500 million and plans to push for changes to the board because of concerns about the software company’s performance and how it handled an accounting probe. 

Starboard said it met with executives to ask the California-based engineering software maker to reopen a nomination window for directors, arguing that new members would give shareholders “increased comfort” about the board’s independence. The California-based company rejected its request, Starboard said. The Wall Street Journal previously reported the information. 

Starboard said it plans to file a lawsuit on Monday to ask a Delaware Court to delay Autodesk’s annual meeting, set for July 16, and compel it to reopen the nomination window for board members. 

In a statement, Autodesk said its board had considered the request and determined that re-opening its nomination window would not be in the best interest of shareholders. The board “maintains an open dialogue with our shareholders and welcomes input on our business, including from Starboard, with whom we have sought to engage constructively since they first reached out in early June.”

In early April, the engineering software maker delayed its annual financial disclosure and said it was opening a review of its accounting processes around free cash flow and operating margins. The weeks-long delay stirred investor anxiety and led to several shareholder lawsuits. Earlier this month, Autodesk said it had provided documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Justice Department.

The activist, run by Chief Executive Officer Jeff Smith, criticized Autodesk for not disclosing the investigation until a deadline for nominating board members closed in March. 

No previously reported financials were changed as a result of the investigation. The board decided to replace Chief Financial Officer Debbie Clifford with board member Betsy Rafael on an interim basis.

Shares were up 5.3% at 11:36 a.m. in New York.

Autodesk makes industrial design and operation software, serving industries like construction and manufacturing. Despite an “enviable position,” Starboard wrote, its adjusted operating margin and share price have underperformed in recent years. 

Management should reduce expenses, buy back shares, refrain from material acquisitions, and enhance its board, Starboard added.

Autodesk “regularly evaluates opportunities to enhance long-term value and will carefully review Starboard’s letter,” the company said in the statement. “Autodesk has a clear strategy that is working. We are providing our customers with ever more valuable and connected solutions through our investments in cloud, platform, and AI.”

(Updates share price and Autodesk’s statement and adds additional context in the last three paragraphs.)

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