Procter & Gamble CEO David Taylor has issued a letter to the company's shareholders, calling on them to snub activist investor Nelson Peltz, who is seeking election to P&G's board.
Shareholders are set to vote on the company's board on 10 October, at the group's annual meeting. Ahead of this, P&G has notified shareholders that they 'face an important decision regarding the future of your investment'.
Making A Choice
It goes on to state that New York hedge fund Trian Fund Management has nominated Nelson Peltz to stand for election to the board, adding, 'You are being asked to choose between a board and management team that are successfully executing a proven plan to build a better and more valuable company and Mr Peltz, who has not offered any new, actionable ideas to deliver value beyond the plan that we already have in place.
'Mr. Peltz does not bring any new or needed skills to our board. We believe that adding him to the board would derail the very significant value-creation progress we are making.'
Proxy Contest
The shareholder vote will take the form of a proxy contest, which, P&G says, Peltz has initiated 'to satisfy his own agenda and to meet the expectations of his limited partners.
'What’s best for P&G right now is balance and focus, with the board and employees continuing a steady commitment to a plan that is working. P&G will not benefit from change for the sake of change.'
Earlier this month, it was suggested that the proxy contest could cost both P&G and Trian around $60 million between them.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
