Dan Loeb confirms he’s pushing Campbell family to sell company
By Carleton English and Josh Kosman August 9, 2018 | 5:38pm
AP
Dan Loeb finally revealed he’s looking for a new recipe for success at Campbell Soup.
The activist hedgie behind Third Point on Thursday announced in a regulatory filing a 5.7 percent stake in the soup maker — and that he is pushing for the company to put itself on the block.
Third Point began ladling Campbell stock into its portfolio in June, according to the filing — weeks after the company’s “disastrous fiscal third quarter” results and the sudden exit of Chief Executive Denise Morrison were revealed.
Campbell said in May that it was initiating a strategic review of the company. That review is expected to be completed on Aug 30.
Third Point — as The Post reported exclusively in July — believes that review should result in the sale of the company.
“The only justifiable outcome of the strategic review is for [Campbell] to be sold to a strategic buyer,” Third Point said in its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The hedge fund didn’t mince words when calling out the failings at the Camden, NJ, company.
Campbell has suffered from “years of abysmal oversight,” “dismal operating performance,” and a “lack of leadership,” the hedge fund said.
Keith McLoughlin has been serving as interim CEO while a search for Morrison’s replacement continues.
“The current CEO vacuum reminds [us] of Ben Franklin’s resonant insight that ‘if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail,’” the hedge fund wrote.
Even Third Point — known for its tough talk in activist situations — realizes that it has a difficult task ahead of it. Roughly 40 percent of Campbell’s stock is held by family members, some of whom may be reluctant to sell.
But Third Point has at least one family member in its corner: George Strawbridge, who has a 2.8 percent stake in Campbell, has agreed to work with the activist, the filing said.
Strawbridge “strongly shares our views,” Third Point said.
Campbell acknowledged Third Point’s filing late Thursday and said it looks forward to “engaging with our shareholders on our strategic plan” on Aug 30.
FILED UNDER CAMPBELL'S SOUP , DAN LOEB , HEDGE FUNDS , THIRD POINT |
