Campbell Soup’s plan rejected for Third Point’s board nominees

Campbell Soup’s proposal to add two Third Point nominees to its board following the annual meeting has been rejected.

The two nominees are Blue Buffalo CEO Kurt Schmidt and Comscore president Sarah Hofstetter.

According to Reuters report, the 149-year-old soup maker is in the midst of a proxy battle with Third Point, which is a $17bn hedge fund run by Daniel Loeb.

A similar offer was previously proposed by the food company but it was also rejected.

The hedge fund owns approximately 7% stake in the soup company.

In a letter, Campbell interim president and CEO Keith McLoughlin said: “Third Point rejected this proposal.”

On Friday, Third Point stated it has reduced the number of its nominees for the soup maker’s board from 12 to five. The hedge fund has allegedly accused Campbell of mismanagement and destroying shareholder value, reported Reuters.

Campbell and Third Point have been at loggerheads over plans on the future course of the soup maker, which is struggling with dipping sales and mounting debt following Snyder’s-Lance acquisition.

In September, Third Point nominated 12 directors, which included an heir of Campbell’s controlling family. It intended to replace the existing board members at the company’s  shareholder meeting to be held at the end of this month.

Currently, the Campbell board includes heirs of the Dorrances, which is one of the richest families in the US.

The five Third Point nominations are hedge fund executive Munib Islam, Hofstetter, Schmidt, Hostess Brands’ former CEO William Toler and former Uber executive Bozoma Saint John.