Last updated on March 25th, 2021
Supervalu Inc. has mailed its previously announced letter to stockholders ahead of the company’s upcoming annual meeting being held on Aug. 16.
In the letter, Supervalu reiterates that its board has been “a significant agent of change to improve Supervalu’s performance and deliver enhanced value to our stockholders.” The company highlights the board’s grocery industry experience (see charts below) and offers insight into Supervalu’s plans to transformation the business by reorganizing into a holding company structure.
The company again is urging its stockholders to not vote for the six new board nominees proposed by activist investor Blackwell’s Capital.
“Blackwells’ director nominees would bring no new or additive expertise to your board,” the company says. “Electing Blackwells’ nominees would disrupt much of the progress Supervalu has made in establishing a strong board and advancing the company’s transformation.”
“Blackwells Capital, a New York-based alternative investment firm, is trying to seize control of your board by proposing to replace six of nine directors,” write Donald R. Chappel, chairman of the board, and Mark Gross, president and CEO, in the letter. “Blackwells’ attempt for majority control of the board, without paying a premium to all stockholders, is highly disproportionate to its purported ownership stake in Supervalu. In fact, through hedging strategies, Blackwells’ exposure to the company is substantially less than it represents. While Blackwells claims that it has a 7.7 percent ownership interest in Supervalu, analysis of the detailed information it has provided in its filings shows that Blackwells’ exposure to the company’s shares is significantly lower.”
Based on Blackwells’ definitive proxy statement filed on June 29, 2018, Blackwells holds 5.3 percent of the Supervalu’s outstanding shares outright but due to its multiple long and short call and put option positions it only has full economic exposure on 1.1 percent of the company’s outstanding shares, says Supervalu.
The full text of the letter is available to read here.
Keep reading:
Supervalu Releases Investor Presentation Ahead Of Annual Meeting
Supervalu Letter Urges Stockholders Not To Vote For Blackwell Nominees
