Billionaire investor Dan Loeb told Bath & Body Works on Wednesday that his hedge fund Third Point plans to launch a board challenge and that the company’s addition of new directors does not address his concerns about governance, capital allocation and executive pay.
“As fiduciaries, we have no choice but to put forth qualified director candidates and give our fellow shareholders the opportunity to elect directors who can hold the stewards of their capital responsible for the decisions they make,” Third Point founder Daniel Loeb wrote in a letter to the company’s board.
A representative for Bath & Body works did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Third Point is announcing the board challenge only hours after Bath & Body Works on Tuesday announced a second board refreshment in two weeks.
The addition of two new members – a veteran chief financial officer with expertise in capital allocation and an expert in consumer products — did not appease Third Point.
Loeb wrote that the board “is operating in triage mode” instead of following best corporate governance practices. He said the company rebuffed the candidate he suggested to the company and did not properly credit him with having identified Lucy Brady, who was added to the board last week.
This week’s appointment of Steve Voskuil “does not assuage our concerns about substantial corporate governance shortcomings.
He did not say how many people he would nominate to the board or identify them. The board currently has 12 members and the window to nominate directors stretches into next month.
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
