Sysco Corporation’s stock jumped this week after a tumultuous summer. Nelson Peltz’s Trian Partners will take over a 7 percent stake in the food service company, which is currently worth around $1.6 billion. According to a report from CNBC, Trian will buy about 42 million shares of the company.
Trian is angled to be the largest individual shareholder in Sysco after a 13-D filing disclosed the deal this Friday.
Sources revealed that Trian will likely try to seek board representation, but it is not clear if Nelson Peltz himself would have a seat on the company’s board. The board has just one week to nominate new candidates.
Sysco’s stock bounced back up in response to the announcement, trading at 8 percent above the previous day.
Trian will take the opportunity to improve margins and return more capital to shareholders of the food service company. Peltz is a food industry veteran, and currently owns stakes in Kraft, Mondelez, Wendy’s and Pepsi, among others.
Sysco shares have done poorly over the last five years, and Trian jumped at the opportunity to collaborate with the struggling company.
Sysco tried to merge with US Foods earlier this summer, a move that was denied by regulators and cost shareholders a lot of money. Sysco paid a separation fee of $300 million to US Foods and another $12.5 million was paid to Performance Food Group. The company’s $3 billion share buyback didn’t help either.
Investors will still have to wait until Friday to see the future of the company unfold, when board nominations are due, but many are hopeful that the deal will lead to positive outcomes.
Wanda B. Hewlett
Wanda B. Hewlett (Contributor) is a freelance writer from the UK. When she’s not busy writing she loves to spend her time traveling, exploring and running.