Deals
Starboard Proceeds With Proxy Fight at Newell Despite Icahn Deal
- Activist investor will nominate a minority slate at meeting
- Jeff Smith’s firm has also called for a strategic review
Carl Icahn
Photographer: Victor J. Blue/This article is for subscribers only.
Starboard Value, the activist fund run by Jeff Smith, is pushing ahead with a proxy fight at Crock-Pot maker Newell Brands Inc., saying it doesn’t believe a recent agreement with billionaire investor Carl Icahn will be enough to fix the company.
“We believe poor execution and a series of operational missteps have resulted in severe share price underperformance,” Smith wrote in a letter to the Newell board Wednesday. “The current situation is unacceptable.”