DuPont has issued a letter to shareholders claiming Trian Partners, headed by activist investor Nelson Peltz, has embarked on a proxy fight and strategy that if carried out would be dangerous for the company. Click on the link below for the letter,
DuPont_Issues_Letter to_Shareholders
Trian has nominated four directors, including Peltz, to join the board. DuPont was willing to let one member of the Peltz slate join the board. Peltz, when told he could not join the board, rejected DuPont’s proposal, based on regulatory filings.
The letter from CEO Ellen Kullman also cites numerous statistics indicting that DuPont stock and the company overall is performing better than the market as a whole.
Peltz and Trian have claimed that DuPont has excessive overhead and an overly complex corporate structure that limit return to shareholders.
DuPont has taken aggressive actions that include separating its Performance Chemical business into a publicly traded company to be known as Chemours. DuPont is also moving its headquarters to a site outside Wilmington, with Chemours to end up in downtown.
Peltz owns less than 4 percent than of DuPont shares, but is known for boosting stock prices of his investments through white papers and criticism of management.
He took Kullman to task for selling stock in the company, although corporate experts say such actions are done automatically when the share price reaches a certain level.
DuPont has undergone a series of restructurings since the 1990s that sent total employment in Delaware to well below 10,000 from 18,000 to 25,000
