Investor Jana's Rosenstein wants to 'pull levers' to boost Qualcomm

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Activist hedge fund manager Barry Rosenstein said on Monday he wants the share price of chip maker Qualcomm (QCOM.O) to climb and his hedge fund, Jana Partners, plans to work collaboratively with management to find ways to boost it.

"We think there are a lot of levers to pull and there is a lot of value to be created," Rosenstein said at the 13D Monitor Active-Passive Investor Summit.

The company's share price was up 4.5 percent at $72.10 in premarket trading.

Jana plans to push the company to engage in a strategic review and consider spinning off its chip unit from its patent-licensing business, Rosenstein said.

The New York-based hedge fund, which invests $11 billion, owns more than $2 billion of Qualcomm's stock.

Rosenstein, who is known for working behind the scenes with management in an often collaborative way, said corporate governance could be tightened and that management's incentives could be better aligned with shareholders.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Jana's plans to push Qualcomm to consider strategic alternatives.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Bernadette Baum)