ADP Rejects Board Nominees From Ackman's Pershing Square
21 August 2017 - 9:49PM
Dow Jones News
By Cara Lombardo
Automatic Data Processing Inc. board members have rejected
activist investor William Ackman's bid for a board seat and those
of two other people nominated by his firm, Pershing Square Capital
Management LP.
Pershing Square, which owns an 8% stake in ADP, earlier this
month tapped its founder Mr. Ackman, Veronica Hagen, the former
chief executive of materials company Polymer Group Inc. and V. Paul
Unruh, a former Bechtel Group executive, for seats on ADP's board.
But ADP board members voted unanimously to reject all of them,
announcing Monday morning that its nominating committee "determined
that none of the Pershing Square nominees bring additive skills or
experience."
The board instead plans to nominate its 10 existing directors
for re-election.
Mr. Ackman has repeatedly clashed with ADP Chief Executive
Carlos Rodriguez, whom he would like to see replaced. Mr. Ackman
and Pershing Square didn't immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Mr. Rodriguez earlier this month called Mr. Ackman a "spoiled
brat" during an appearance on CNBC.
"Adding Mr. Ackman's nominees would not be an improvement," said
John Jones, chairman of ADP's board. "Unlike Mr. Ackman's nominees,
ADP's directors have a deep understanding and appreciation of the
current state of ADP's business and its clients."
Mr. Ackman, who is known for aggressive tactics but typically
gains board seats through negotiations rather than proxy fights,
said last week that ADP's stock value could more than double by
2022. He thinks the company needs to build its own capabilities
rather than buying them to prevent startups from further
encroaching on its market share.
The board's rejection of Mr. Ackman's bid doesn't come as a
surprise. Shortly after the nominations were announced, ADP took
the unusual step of disclosing demands Mr. Ackman had made
privately and said in a statement it believes it already has a
"strong and independent board."
After Mr. Ackman presented his ideas for ADP last week on an
hourslong conference call, the company issued another stinging
statement: "We strongly disagree with many of the assertions made
by Mr. Ackman in today's presentation, which betrays a fundamental
lack of understanding of the current state of ADP's business and
strategy."
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 21, 2017 07:34 ET (11:34 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024