Heading to Principal’s Office for a Pint: Windsor’s Schoolhouse Brewery | SaltWireLONDON - In early 2021, investment management firm Artisan Partners sent an open letter to an incoming member of Danone's board, saying it had built a stake of more than 3% in the French food giant."On almost every measure, Danone's performance has lagged," Artisan said, and called for change.
Data shared exclusively with Reuters by consultancy Alvarez & Marsal also showed that, in the first seven months of the year, the consumer goods industry was the most targeted by activist investors. Peltz is known for his interest in consumer-oriented firms and for his role in reshaping H.J. Heinz as well as engineering the break up of Cadbury Schweppes. Shortly after his arrival on the board, Unilever appointed a former Heinz executive as CEO.
"There is one situation that we're having a very close look at where I think advocating for management change would probably be the right thing to do," he added. Clearway last year pushed for change at sports supplement maker Glanbia. Since Clearway's letter to Glanbia's board in May 2022 calling for a break-up of the company to help unlock value, the Irish company's share price has jumped about 39% and its longtime CEO plans to retire.
"There are more opportunities in global consumer staples for activists over the coming years, but the timing has to be right," Ceron said. He did not cite specific companies. ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT