Update: The Associated Press reported shareholders at Procter & Gamble rejected Nelson Peltz for a seat on the Board of Directors.
Proctor and Gamble's shareholders will decide Tuesday if a billionaire hedge fund manager will be put on the P&G Board of Directors. Nelson Peltz founding partner of Trian Partners wants to slash jobs and consolidate business units in order to spend more on advertising and acquire other businesses. This possibility has P&G leaders asking shareholders not to give Peltz a seat on the board. Trian Partners now has a $3.5 billion stake out of P&G's $222.8 billion market value.
Peltz recently told CNBC that "this proxy fight is probably the dumbest thing I've ever been involved in." He also claimed that if he was elected to the board "no one has to get off." However, the company said in a statement that "the P&G Board and management team identified the changes that were needed and have already been aggressively implementing them" and claimed Peltz’s timing is "late to P&G’s turnaround."
"Members of the P&G Board have had numerous interactions with Mr. Peltz to listen to and understand his views, but he has only offered one substantive idea that P&G is not already doing," the statement read. "The one idea he is advocating - to again reorganize the Company - is a bad idea that would stall or reverse the Company’s momentum. The last thing P&G needs now is a costly and time-consuming reorganization."P&G is urging its shareholders to vote against adding Peltz to the Board.
Community business organizations also protested adding Peltz to the Board, inlcuding the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber and 3CDC. There have also been several CEO's who have also protested adding Peltz to the Board. CEO's from the Cincinnati Reds, Cintas, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Western & Southern Life Insurance, and Enovapremier have stated they stand with P&G.
Here is a link to voting information for shareholders.