Trian $queeze on P&G
Activist investor Nelson Peltz thinks consumer-products giant Procter & Gamble can regain its mojo — not to mention its shelf space — by reorganizing into three standalone business units.
Peltz, who has been pushing for a seat on the P&G board to better implement his ideas on innovation, delivered his big picture plan in a 94-slide presentation on Wednesday.
Within minutes, P&G told Peltz and his $12.7 billion hedge fund, Trian Partners, what it thought of the socalled white paper.
“It remains clear Trian has an outdated view of our company,” P&G said in a statement. Nevertheless, the company said it would review the white paper “in more detail.”
Peltz wants to split P&G into beauty, home-care and family-care units — each with regional leaders, which he contends will spur innovation.
Trian is zeroing in on the new product front, noting that the company’s last breakthrough brand was the Swiffer, which was introduced 20 years ago. The innovation drought continues despite P&G spending more on research and development than all its rivals combined, the white paper said.
Trian revealed a $3.5 billion stake in $236 billion P&G in July.
Peltz is hoping to win a seat on the board at P&G’s annual meeting next month, and chip away at what he calls the company’s “insular” culture.
Shares are up 10 percent year to date, but they lag the gains of the S&P 500 index over the past five years: 38 percent to 75 percent.