Premier Foods Share News (PFD)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Premier Foods PLC said Thursday the Institutional Shareholder Services has recommended that shareholders vote in favour of re-electing current Chief Executive Officer Gavin Darby at the company's annual general meeting on July 18.

Premier Foods said this backing follows the endorsement from voting advisory services Glass Lewis and Pensions & Investments research Consultants.

Premier Foods were forced to back Darby after shareholder Oasis Management Co Ltd said it intends to vote against his re-election at the company's annual general meeting.

Hong Kong-based Oasis Management, which owns 9.3% stake in the company, encouraged other shareholders to voting against Darby.

In June, Oasis said Darby drove Premier Foods into a "zombie-like-state" and he had "no credible strategy to return Premier Foods to growth".

"Gavin Darby has overseen five years of failure which has led to considerable destruction of shareholder value. The equity market has long lost faith in his leadership, and in our view his self-interest and self-preservation, which we will no doubt see much of over the coming weeks, have driven a culture which does not respect the interests of shareholders," Oasis added.

Premier Foods said it "rejects" the statements made by Oasis to date and it firmly believes that Darby is "best placed to run the business".

The company said "there is no certainty" that a manager with the same or superior skills "could be recruited, at acceptable cost or within a reasonable period" if Darby is pushed out.

Chairman Keith Hamill said: "The board has made a unanimous recommendation to shareholders to vote in favour of the re-election of Gavin Darby. The board has confidence in him and firmly believes that he and The management team are best placed to run the business and execute the company's strategy."

Shares in Premier Foods were down 0.9% Thursday at 39.62 pence each.