Media Center

8/1/2021

Cat Rock Gnaws at Just Eat’s Finance Chief

The Times (London) (08/01/21) Meddings, Sabah

Cat Rock is turning its focus to Just Eat Takeaway (GRUB) finance director Brent Wissink after accusing the food group of “deeply flawed” communications. Alex Captain, founder of Cat Rock, is understood to hold Brent Wissink partly accountable for its alleged shortcomings in dealing with investors and the market. Cat Rock last week claimed the company was “vulnerable to takeover bids at far below intrinsic value.” Cat Rock said it had not been transparent enough in communicating the cost of its investments. Captain said he was “surprised” that the company had struggled to improve its communication. “The concerns ... aren’t new. I’ve made recommendations privately, and they haven’t moved quickly enough or aggressively enough to solve the problems,” he said. “Takeaway.com was a roughly €1 billion company ... at [the time of its stock market listing] and it is [now] worth €14 billion with global operations,” said Captain. “The scale of the task on investor relations and financial planning has increased dramatically, but the resources are the same.” Cat Rock has also grown frustrated about the fall in Just Eat Takeaway’s share price — down 23% over the past year, valuing it at €15.6 billion (£13.3 billion). Just Eat Takeaway said it held “regular dialogue with all shareholders.” It has also increased its finance team.

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8/1/2021

Morrisons Braced for Counterbid

The Times (London) (08/01/21) Chambers, Sam

The private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) is poised to kick off a bidding war for Morrisons (MRWSY) amid mounting opposition to the £6.3 billion offer on the table for the grocer from a consortium led by American buyout rival Fortress. CD&R is understood to have been lining up equity and debt financing for a counterbid that could come as soon as this week. Should it win the auction, CD&R plans to open a chain of Morrisons convenience stores at the 900-plus petrol stations operated by Motor Fuel Group, which it has owned since 2015. CD&R, advised by former Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy, is also understood to be focusing on how it can use excess space in Morrisons’ supermarkets more imaginatively. The firm intends to work alongside the chain’s executive team, led by chief executive David Potts. Silchester, Morrisons’ biggest shareholder with a 15.1% stake, last week criticized the board for not allowing more time for higher competing offers to emerge. Two other top 20 shareholders — JO Hambro and M&G — also said the 252p-a-share offer undervalued the supermarket chain. CD&R has until August 9 to table an offer. The stage is set for a bidding war. Fortress has enlisted investment giant GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, to join its consortium, which is already backed by Canadian pension fund CPPIB and a division of the billionaire Koch family empire. Sources said other private equity firms and family offices had also been running the rule over Morrisons. A source close to one suitor said there were likely to be multiple incremental bids, with the potential for the eventual price to hit 290p a share. Morrisons shares closed at 264p on Friday.

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7/31/2021

Murakami Gains Majority in Japan Asia Group

Reuters (07/31/21) Yamazaki, Makiko

A Japanese fund backed by veteran investor Yoshiaki Murakami will acquire a majority in Japan Asia Group (JAG) as a result of a deal that closed on Friday. Murakami's City Index Eleventh fund will raise its stake in JAG to 58.96% from 15.35%, bringing the total holdings to roughly 75% when combined with shares owned by related parties. City Index Eleventh began accumulating an interest in JAG while Carlyle Group (CG) partnered with JAG Chairman and CEO Tetsuo Yamashita in a proposed management buyout in November. Carlyle decamped in February after City Index Eleventh offered a higher bid to purchase the rest of the shares. Murakami's signature approach is to build up a stake in a company amid a takeover and demand that management increase its sale price.

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7/30/2021

Investors Seek ‘Step Change in Corporate Governance on Climate Risk’

IPE Real Estate (07/30/21) Rust, Susanna

European pension funds have joined asset managers to call on corporates to better explain how they plan to deliver on “net-zero” commitments and provide a routine shareholder vote on their transition plans. The expectations are set out in a statement coordinated by the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) and backed by 53 investors. In their statement, the investors acknowledged that the effectiveness of voting depended on the build-out of high-quality assessments of corporate net-zero transition plans and implementation, and said they would work with data providers and proxy advisers on this. “Overall, the process represents a drive to secure a step change in corporate governance on climate risk,” said the IIGCC. More than 10 companies, including Glencore (GLNCY), Nestlé (NSRGY), Shell (RDS.A), and Unilever (UL) have already implemented measures outlined in the investors’ expectation statement.

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7/30/2021

Exxon Plans No 'Huge Shifts in Strategy' After Losing Board Fight

Financial Times (07/30/21) Jacobs, Justin

ExxonMobil (XOM) CEO Darren Woods said the company does not plan to institute any "huge shifts in strategy" after losing a hard-fought shareholder vote. The hedge fund Engine No. 1, claiming Exxon's focus on fossil fuels put the company at "existential risk," defeated Exxon in the vote and won three seats on the board. Woods, speaking to analysts, said the shareholder vote defeat is unlikely to spark drastic change, though he did concede Exxon could put "additional emphasis" on carbon capture, hydrogen, and other clean-energy techniques it has already explored. His comments came as the company reported a net profit of $4.7 billion in the second quarter. Woods attributed the positive financial results to a sharp rebound in demand amid the global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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7/30/2021

Stores to be Rebranded by GameStop

Retail & Leisure International (07/30/21)

GameStop Corp. (GME) is changing the name of the 4,000 stores it operates across Canada. The video game retailer will change the name of its EB Games stores in Canada and the online store to the GameStop brand by the end of 2021. The rebranding comes as GameStop continues its efforts to turn around its business and focus on e-commerce. In June, the company shored up its top leadership with the appointment of two former Amazon executives, naming Matt Furlong as CEO and Mike Recupero as CFO. Shareholder Ryan Cohen, co-founder of Chewy, was named chairman. Cohen has led GameStop's digital push.

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7/30/2021

Big Investors Take Tougher Line on Companies' Net Zero Plans

Financial Times (07/30/21) Mooney, Attracta

More than 50 large investors are demanding companies publish details of efforts to tackle climate change and give shareholders a vote on their plans. The investors, which together manage more than $14 trillion in assets, have called on companies to make a board director responsible for their efforts and allow investors to vote annually on progress on the plan where it is permissible in local law. Stephanie Pfeifer, chief executive of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, which brought the investors together, said companies need to outline how they plan to slash their emissions rather than just making pledges.

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7/29/2021

Glaxo Is Attempting a Turnaround. An Investor Wants to Accelerate It. Buy the Stock.

Barron's (07/29/21) Nathan-Kazis, Josh

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has signaled for years plans to spin off the consumer-healthcare joint venture it created with Pfizer (PFE). That is set to happen in the middle of next year, but what is new this time is the involvement of hedge fund Elliott Management. Investors are paying attention, having pushed Glaxo's stock up about 10% since Elliott's involvement emerged in April. So is Glaxo management. The price of a share of the British drugmaker has not changed much over the past decade. But Glaxo now has an opportunity to break out of its slump. Investors have made out better than the 7.2% decrease in share price suggests due to Glaxo's hefty dividend, though their 58% return still leaves them far behind their peers. Glaxo has articulated aggressive goals for the biopharma firm that will remain after the spinoff.

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7/29/2021

Danone to Replace Bulk of Board After Investor Onslaught

International Business Times (07/29/21)

Danone (DANOY) announced that it would reconstitute almost its entire 12-person board months after investors forced the French food and beverage giant's CEO to resign. Former CEO Franck Riboud was ousted, as was his successor Emmanuel Faber. "The renewal will be completed by the general shareholders meeting of the spring of 2023," the group stated. The only board members to survive the cull were chairman Gilles Schnepp and two staff representatives. Danone has separated its business into four divisions, including dairy and plant-based products, waters, early life nutrition, and medical nutrition. Faber was forced out in March over criticism that his focus on social responsibility was restraining Danone's profitability, with foreign investors unhappy about the company's underperforming share price. U.S. fund Artisan Partners (APAM) and U.K.-based Bluebell Capital were among dissident shareholders accumulating stakes in Danone in order to push change. During Faber's tenure, Danone added a mission statement to its mandates combining profitability with social responsibility and environmental targets. Former finance director Cecile Cabanis will also leave Danone's board, having only recently been appointed vice president. Faber has been replaced by Antoine de Saint-Affrique, who joins in September from Swiss chocolate group Barry Callebaut (BRRLY). He spent most of his career at the food and consumer goods conglomerate Unilever (UL), overseeing its food division from 2011 to 2015. Meanwhile, Danone's second-quarter financial performance topped analysts' expectations. Sales rose 3.6% to close to 6.2 billion euros ($7.4 billion) and net profit by 5.2% to 1.07 billion euros. However, Danone's profit margin from ordinary operations was hit by soaring commodities prices, shrinking from 14% to 13.1% year over year.

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