PFD

Premier Foods, stock lending, custodians, shareholder rights and nominee accounts

The background to my comments is below: KATE BURGESS in the FT on 15 July 2018 reported that accusations of empty voting — where investors borrow voting shares for short periods to swing the outcome at meetings —reverberated around the market ahead of Premier Food’s shareholder meeting next week. They were sparked when Oasis Management , the Hong Kong activist hoping to unseat Premier’s chief executive Gavin Darby, said it had increased its stake in the owner of Angel Delight from 9 to ...

Gavin Darby dodges a bullet at Premier Foods AGM

At the Premier Foods AGM the CEO Gavin Darby survived the "decapitation" attempt with 59% of the votes for his re-election vs 41% against. But its clear that the activist Oasis is not going away any time soon and so the debate about accelerating the reduction of debt with a chosen divestment or two rumbles on. The board are making conciliatory noises and continue to talk to those who attempted the decapitation: "Over recent weeks we have had discussions with a substantial ...

Premier Foods – it all comes down to strategy

Premier have now responded to the Oasis “decapitation” initiative with a posting on their website outlining the case for retention of the present CEO. Its worth a read through and you can find a copy here - http://www.premierfoods.co.uk/getattachment/investors/results-centre/Premier-Foods-Presentation-July-2018-(2).pdf.aspx Premier have taken each of the key areas mentioned by Oasis and outlined their own position on the matter. The pack summarises the past financial performance, the abandoned McCormick approach, the strategic review and Gavin Darby’s pay. And, to demonstrate that they DO have ...

The Battle for Petropavlovsk is over – for now….

So, the boardroom battle at Petropavlovsk finally reached a conclusion at today's AGM with the present board being ousted by the returning previous board. I note that the key votes were won by relatively small margins of a few percent and there was a very good turnout with c77% of all shares voted. So, is it a testament to true shareholder democracy or a disaster for the company's stability and future prospects with a rotating door at the top - what ...

Are Premier Foods about to be Stuffed?

Premier Foods (PFD), makers of the famous Paxo stuffing, may itself be about to be stuffed by one of its largest shareholders. Oasis Management Company Ltd who own nearly 10% of PFD, is encouraging all shareholders to vote for the removal of the current CEO, Gavin Darby, at the upcoming AGM on the 18th July. Oasis claim that: “Gavin Darby has driven Premier Foods into its current “zombie-like” state–he has no credible strategy to return Premier Foods to growth. Long-suffering shareholders need ...