Nelson Peltz is declaring victory in his battle for a seat on the board of consumer products giant Procter & Gamble
Peltz’s Trian Fund Management, L.P. owns stock, valued at $3.5 billion in the consumer products giant best known for Tide detergent, Gillette razors and Charmin toilet pape.
The official preliminary voting tabulation by IVS Associates, Inc., Wilmington, reversed an earlier tally showing Peltz losing his bid by the narrowest of margins.
P&G reported that Peltz is leading Ernesto Zedillo in the director vote by a razor-thin margin of approximately 0.0016 percent of shares outstanding or approximately 42,780 shares.
“The results are still preliminary and are subject to a review and challenge period during which both parties will have the opportunity to review the results for any discrepancies,” P&G reported, adding that an independent Inspector of Elections will issue a final report in coming weeks.
Trian issued the following statement on today’s results:
“Trian greatly appreciates the support we have received, and we have gratified that the Independent Inspector’s tabulation shows that shareholders have elected Nelson Peltz to the P&G Board of Directors. The Inspector’s report represents an independent, careful tabulation of all proxies and ballots submitted to the Inspector by both P&G and Trian. Trian strongly urges P&G to accept the Inspector’s tabulation and not waste further time and shareholder money contesting the outcome of the Annual Meeting. Shareholders have voted, and they have indicated that they want Nelson Peltz to join the Board.”
A release from Trian stated that “Nelson Peltz looks forward to working collaboratively in the boardroom with the other members of the board and management team to revitalize P&G. Trian believes Nelson Peltz’s extensive experience and track record of improving performance at consumer companies will bring significant value to the P&G Board and help create the right environment for generating breakthrough ideas.”
In 2015, Peltz was unsuccessful in electing a slate of directors to the DuPont Co. In a way, he prevailed when directors ousted CEO Ellen Kullman, who had battled Peltz.
Ed Breen, one of the directors who had been elected as an alternative to the Peltz slate, took over as CEO and engineered a merger with Dow Chemical. DowDuPont will then split up into three companies. Peltz supported the move, saw the stock price of DuPont go up and sold off part of holdings.
In the case of P&G, which has a much higher value on the stock market than DuPont, Peltz sought only one board seat, but ran into the same intense opposition. It triggered boardroom battle that was said to be the most expensive in history.
In both the case of DuPont and P&G, Peltz issued whitepapers that are critical of company strategies and suggest ways to improve stock performance.
Critics see the Trian approach as a way to drive up the stock price over the short term and allow Peltz to profit handsomely.
Other say the efforts of Trian and Peltz strip companies of unneeded bureaucracy that slows down decision-making.
Peltz and Trian have also been accused of targeting women CEOs, with DuPont and Pepsi cited as examples. Peltz denied such claims pointing to companies, like P&G, which are headed by men.
