Expect activist pressure to reach a boiling point at Campbell Soup. The Camden, NJ-based soup maker said Thursday that after a three-month review…
Expect activist pressure to reach a boiling point at Campbell Soup.
The Camden, NJ-based soup maker said Thursday that after a three-month review it plans to divest non-core businesses such as the Bolthouse Farms refrigerated-food business and international brands such as Arnott’s. It said the divestitures will increase its cost savings by $945 million by fiscal 2022 — up $150 million from previous targets.
Investors recoiled at what Campbell’s was serving, sending shares down more than 4 percent in pre-market trades.
One shareholder who likely isn’t pleased is activist-investor Dan Loeb of Third Point, which announced a 5.7 percent stake in the company last month. Loeb, who joined forces with Campbell family descendant George Strawbridge, said last month Campbell’s only “justifiable outcome” of its review was a full sale.
Instead, Campbell said it will focus on two of its North American lines: snacks and “meals and beverages,” which include its canned food business, Swanson, V8 and Pepperidge Farm.
The Post exclusively reported Monday that Loeb is preparing to stage a nasty proxy fight if he doesn’t like the Campbell’s plan .
While defying Loeb, Campbell appears to know it has its work cut out for it. The company reported adjusted fiscal year earnings or $2.87 cents a share, down 6 percent from a year ago.
“Fiscal 2018 was a challenging year for Campbell,” interim chief executive Keith McLoughlin said Thursday in the company’s fiscal fourth quarter earnings release. “These results and our outlook for fiscal 2019 reinforce the need for the significant actions we announced this morning as part of our comprehensive review.”
Campbell’s review started in May, just as former chief executive Denise Morrison abruptly exited the company following several quarters of weak results.
The company had promised the review would be robust.
“Everything is on the table. There are no sacred cows,” McLoughlin stressed during a call with analysts in May.
Reps from Third Point did not immediately respond to requests to comment.
