Supervalu’s Share Price and Financial
Performance Perennially Worst Among Peers By Wide Margin
Detailed Analyses Illustrate How Incumbent
Board Has Failed at Each of Its Core Responsibilities
Shareholders Materially Harmed by Board
Conflicts and Transactions, Enabled by Six Incumbent Supervalu
Directors (the “Culpable Six”)
Blackwells Has Nominated Six Highly Qualified
Professionals Who Possess Required Experience, Independence and a
Detailed Strategic Plan to Unlock Value for Shareholders
Shareholders Urged to VOTE the GREEN Proxy Card
for Much Needed Change
Blackwells Capital LLC (together with its affiliates,
“Blackwells Capital” or “Blackwells”), an alternative investment
management firm, today publicly released a presentation to
shareholders of Supervalu Inc. (NYSE:SVU) (“Supervalu” or the
“Company”), entitled “Board Member Accountability,” detailing the
need for change at Supervalu and a path forward to create and
unlock value for all shareholders, under the leadership of its six
highly qualified nominees to the Supervalu Board of Directors.
Supervalu shareholders of record at the close of business on June
25, 2018 are urged to vote on the GREEN proxy card at the upcoming
Supervalu annual meeting of stockholders, to be held on August 16,
2018.
Information on Blackwells’ director nominees, their extensive
experience in the retail and wholesale food industry, logistics and
sustainability, and their proposed contribution to the Supervalu
Board is detailed in the presentation and in Blackwells’ proxy
statement, both of which are available at
www.savesupervalu.com.
As presented fully in the 179-page document, Supervalu’s
negative shareholder returns and the loss of more than $10 billion
in shareholder wealth directly result from poor financial and
operating performance. The capital markets have assigned Supervalu
an industry-worst valuation multiple. As indicated by pessimistic
ratings and high levels of short-selling, analysts and shareholders
appear to doubt that the latest “wholesale transformation” will
produce better results.
Based on Blackwells’ analyses, Supervalu’s declining stock
price, financial and operating metrics can all be in turn
attributed to a failure by Supervalu’s incumbent directors to
fulfill their most basic duties across all major Board
responsibilities:
1.
To set and implement a differentiated,
results-oriented strategy;
2.
To oversee business execution and hold
management accountable for lapses in execution;
3.
To recruit, support and retain talented
executive managers;
4.
To align compensation with shareholder
value creation;
5.
To review diligently all M&A and
the allocation of corporate capital;
6.
To ensure shareholders have accurate,
transparent, and intelligible disclosures;
7.
To engage and communicate with
investors professionally, openly and regularly; and
8.
To be a steward of the company’s
environmental, social and governance responsibilities and
policies.
“In this presentation, we provide the data to support our
conclusion that this Board has failed at each of its major
responsibilities,” Mr. Aintabi continued. “Shareholders have
patiently waited year after year for the current Board and
leadership to fix the Company’s problems and ‘transform’ its
businesses yet again, only to see failures repeated and compounded.
Based on our research, we believe it is folly to expect different
results from this Board, which lacks the skills, independence and
alignment with shareholders necessary to put the Company on a
winning path.”
Blackwells’ presentation provides extensive evidence for its
view of why the incumbent directors have repeatedly failed to
arrest the Company’s decline, documenting their lack of industry
experience, their minimal share ownership and purchases, and
conflicts of interest with their fiduciary duties.
Most seriously, Blackwells’ research has uncovered evidence of
what it believes to be staggering disloyalty on the part of six
incumbent Supervalu directors, the “Culpable Six,” who have not
served the shareholders of Supervalu well and, in some cases, had
deep personal and business conflicts that were not clearly
disclosed or understood by shareholders. Among other things,
several of Supervalu’s directors sat on the Supervalu board while
negotiating M&A transactions with Supervalu’s direct
competitors, and stood by while incomplete and confusing financial
disclosures obfuscated the true financial performance of the
Company, to the benefit of their outside business partners or
interests.
Mr. Aintabi continued, “With $14 billion in sales, more than
31,000 employees and a leading position in America’s food supply
chain, Supervalu matters. But under the leadership of what we
believe to be an entrenched, disloyal group of directors, the
Company has languished badly. Shareholders need and deserve better,
as do all Supervalu’s stakeholders. We have put forward
exceptionally skilled and experienced nominees, who bring decades
of recent executive-level experience in retail and wholesale food
businesses, logistics and sustainability and, importantly, pristine
records of integrity that Supervalu desperately needs at this
pivotal point.
“These nominees have developed their own impressive and
extensive plan for the Company and a roadmap for unlocking
shareholder value and fulfilling their responsibilities as
directors, once elected. The thoughtfulness of the plan
demonstrates how fit the nominees are to serve as fiduciaries for
all shareholders.”
In the presentation released today by Blackwells, the nominees
provide detailed information and supporting analysis for their
proposed plan for Supervalu. The major elements of the strategic
plan involve stabilizing, growing and monetizing the businesses
owned by Supervalu. Specific opportunities are discussed along with
the expected execution timelines.
“We encourage all of our fellow shareholders to review carefully
the information we have provided in the presentation, along with
disclosures by Supervalu. We are convinced that there is one best
path here to value creation: voting the GREEN card to elect the six
skilled, independent professionals we have nominated.”
Blackwells’ presentation to Supervalu shareholders is available
at www.savesupervalu.com/presentation.
For any questions about how to vote, please contact Morrow
Sodali, at Blackwells@morrowsodali.com or (800) 662-5200.
About Blackwells Capital
Blackwells Capital is an alternative investment manager
dedicated to global fundamental and special situation investing
across capital structures. Founded in 2016 by Jason Aintabi, its
Managing Partner, Blackwells’ investment approach is
research-intensive, value-oriented and concentrated.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005983/en/
Investors:Morrow SodaliMike Verrechia,
800-662-5200Blackwells@morrowsodali.comorMedia:Gagnier
CommunicationsDan Gagnier / Jeffrey Mathews, 646-569-5897
Grafico Azioni Supervalu (NYSE:SVU)
Storico
Da Mag 2024 a Giu 2024
Grafico Azioni Supervalu (NYSE:SVU)
Storico
Da Giu 2023 a Giu 2024