RE: From The FT11 Jul 2017 09:58
every bit helps, so their 0.1% holding a step in the right direction. Hopefully used it against the resolutions. Every ensure you vote and get this joke CEO out.
https://www.ft.com/content/3211fc06-6575-11e7-9a66-93fb352ba1fe?mhq5j=e2
British food producer Premier Foods has been criticised by another investor for “a poor regard for shareholder value” in a further sign of the pressure on the company’s board.
Cape Wrath Capital, which had a stake of 0.1 per cent in Premier on May 1, according to S&P Capital IQ, said efforts to cut debt were a “distraction” from the real problem, which it said was “management credibility”.
The London-based fund manager said the Premier board was “without the skillset to deliver” shareholder returns.
Cape Wrath’s open letter to Premier’s chairman follows criticism of the company by US hedge fund Paulson & Co and after another activist investor, Oasis Management, was given a seat on the board.
In May, Premier reported a fall in underlying revenues and profits after it was hit by higher prices for ingredients such as sugar and chocolate, as well as retailers cutting back on promotions.
The company makes products such as Mr Kipling cakes, Ambrosia puddings and Oxo gravy, and recently won an extension of a deal to make Cadbury branded cakes.
In its letter, Cape Wrath said Premier’s chief executive and finance director had told it that the company had adjusted the level of marketing spending to hit earnings targets. This showed “a disregard for long-term value creation”, Cape Wrath said.
It also attacked Premier’s management for rejecting a £537m takeover approach last year from US spice maker McCormick at a price that it said was a 115 per cent premium to the undisturbed share price.
Premier, which has undergone a restructuring under chief executive Gavin Darby, said at the time that the offer was “inadequate”. It said it saw “a strong future for an independent Premier Foods and believes that the foundations have been laid for significant growth and shareholder value creation”.
Premier said in a statement: “We are aware of the recent letter sent by Cape Wrath Capital to our chairman. We value the active and constructive dialogue we with have with our shareholders.”
In March, Premier gave a board seat to Oasis, which had an 8.3 per cent stake, short of the customary 10 per cent of the stock that is usual for a board seat. In January, Paulson said the company had been “grossly mismanaged” after it blamed commodity prices and a weak pound for a profit warning.
The shares closed down 3 per cent to 40.5p in London on Monday, down 7 per cent in the past year and below McCormick’s bid of 65p.
Premier was once the UK’s largest food company but a debt-fuelled merger and acquisition spending spree brought it to the brink
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