The proxy fight around Newell Brands is heating up, with Starboard Value nominating two additional directors to a full slate that it is proposing for election at the company's annual meeting. The hedge fund's statement came after the company announced on Feb. 22 a “refreshment” of its board of directors, nominating two new independent directors and announcing its intention to nominate a third one. In a letter to Newell's board, Starboard said its proxy battle was “largely about extremely poor execution, lack of accountability, unacceptable governance, [and] severe destruction of shareholder value.” Meanwhile, two more directors including another veteran of the former Jarden Corporation, Ros L'Esperance, have resigned from Newell's board, joining Martin Franklin, Ian Ashken and Domenico De Sole, who are working with Starboard to try and regain control of the company. The other one is Kevin Conroy, a former executive of Metro Goldwin Meyer. He is the fifth board member to have resigned. For its part, Newell has received the support of a shareholder that owns 6.9 percent of its shares, Icahn, on condition that Patrick Campbell will become chairman and that it will nominate another independent director to the new board.

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