Activist investor increases stake in battle to oust boss
OASIS MANAGEMENT, an activist investor calling for the head of Premier Foods boss Gavin Darby, has increased its stake in the Mr Kipling firm ahead of a crunch vote on the chief executive’s future.
The group, which is calling for the immediate removal of Mr Darby, upped its holding in Premier from 9.09 per cent to 17.3 per cent.
It will give Oasis more firepower when it votes for Mr Darby’s removal at Premier’s forthcoming AGM on July 18.
Piling further pressure on Mr Darby is US hedge fund Paulson & Co, which also increased its stake from 1.99 per cent to 6.08 per cent. The group has been critical of the chief executive’s strategy in the past when he oversaw the successful defence of a takeover tilt from US firm McCormick in 2016.
For its part, Oasis has claimed that Mr Darby has presided over five years of value destruction, poor financial performances and exhibited a lack of strategy.
A spokesman for Oasis said: “Our increased stake demonstrates our deep commitment and belief in the potential of Premier Foods, as well as our belief that, under a different CEO, the company will be in a better position finally to capitalise on its many options for long-term shareholder value creation.
“We have confidence that, at the conclusion of the July 18 AGM, Gavin Darby will no longer be CEO of Premier Foods.”
In 2016, instead of tying up with McCormick, Premier announced a collaboration agreement with Japan’s Nissin.