Bed Bath & Beyond, Activists Settle -- WSJ
May 30 2019 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Allison Prang
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (May 30, 2019).
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. named four new independent directors
to its board and reached a settlement with activist investors who
had been pressing the company to make leadership changes.
Bed Bath & Beyond, which not long ago reported its first
loss and decrease in sales for a fiscal year as a publicly traded
company, was being pressured by three activist investors who
thought the company hadn't adapted to new consumer behavior. The
investors had aimed to revamp the company's board.
The company said it entered into an agreement with the three
activists -- Legion Partners, Macellum Advisors and Ancora
Advisors, which in total own about 5.2% of Bed Bath and Beyond. All
four of the directors the company appointed were a part of the
activist group's slate of nominees. The group had most recently
proposed a slate of 10. The investor group will withdraw its slate
and vote for those the company has recommended in coming annual
shareholder meetings.
Bed Bath & Beyond on Wednesday said it appointed the
following new directors to its board: John Fleming, previously
global e-commerce chief executive of Uniqlo Co. Ltd.; Sue Gove,
president of retail consulting firm Excelsior Advisors LLC; Jeffrey
Kirwan, previously global president and CEO of The Gap Inc.'s Gap
division; and Joshua Schechter, who has chaired various public
boards and is a private investor.
A dozen of the company's 13 board directors now have joined the
board over the past couple of years, Bed Bath & Beyond
said.
"Together with the existing board members, these four new
independent directors will help the company navigate the current
omnichannel retail environment and pursue our shared goal of
enhancing shareholder value," the investor group said.
Bed Bath & Beyond is also still looking for a permanent
chief executive after its former CEO resigned earlier this month.
Its interim CEO is Mary Winston, previously chief financial officer
for Family Dollar Stores Inc.
Based in Union, N.J., Bed Bath & Beyond operated 1,533
retail stores as of March 2.
Write to Allison Prang at allison.prang@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 30, 2019 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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