Peltz: It's enough, I want seat on Procter & Gamble board. P&G: You have no ideas
Staff Writer |
Activist investor Nelson Peltz is seeking a seat on Procter & Gamble board, frustrated with the company's lagging stock price and railing against its "suffocating bureaucracy."
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Trian Fund Management announced the nomination of its chief executive and co-founder Peltz, launching the largest proxy fight ever against a $223 billion consumer products juggernaut that sells everything from Tide detergent and Gillette razors to Pampers diapers.
Peltz's nomination comes after five months of behind-the-scenes discussions between Trian and P&G's top executives and board, according to the company's proxy filing.
At one point, the two sides nearly struck a truce in May that would involve P&G laying out certain performance metrics over the next year.
But any sign of an agreement was absent on Monday when both came out swinging. The 180-year-old company, founded on a hand-shake agreement by a soap and a candle maker, issued a statement strongly backing its board and strategic plan. See Breakingviews column:
Trian, which owns about $3.3 billion of P&G's stock, or 1.5 percent of the company, has until an October annual meeting to convince fellow shareholders that Peltz deserves to be voted onto the board.
"P&G has maintained an active and constructive dialogue with Trian since it made its investment in the Company," "P&G said.
"P&G’s Board and management team are keenly focused on executing the Company's strategy to drive innovation, accelerate organic sales and volume growth, improve productivity and cost structure, and strengthen P&G's organization and culture.
"While the Board is always willing to consider new ideas that may help drive profitable growth and enhance shareholder value, the Board notes that Trian has not provided any new or actionable ideas to drive additional value for P&G shareholders beyond the continued successful execution of the strategic plan that is in place.
"The Board is confident that the changes being made are producing results, and expresses complete support for the Company's strategy, plans, and management." ■