By Josh Beckerman
PetSmart Inc. shareholder Jana Partners LLC, the hedge fund that
has been pushing for a sale of the pet-goods retailer, said it is
considering nominating five people to the company's board.
If it opts to run a proxy contest, Jana said it has hired five
candidates who have agreed to put their names forward.
The candidates are Edwin Crawford, the previous chairman of CVS
Caremark Corp.; Julian Day, the former chairman and CEO of
RadioShack Corp.; Thomas Dickson, who most recently led Harris
Teeter Supermarkets Inc.; Susan Feldman, the co-founder of an
online home-goods shopping site; and Lawrence V. Jackson, a former
executive at Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
PetSmart, meanwhile, began exploring a sale this summer amid
pressure to do so from shareholders, including Longview Asset
Management LLC and Jana. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier
this month that a handful of private-equity firms have been invited
to the final round of bidding for the company, citing people
familiar with the matter. The company's market capitalization is
about $7.76 billion.
PetSmart reported Tuesday that its third-quarter profit edged
down as the company reported higher costs that offset a 3% sales
increase. PetSmart has announced a plan to cut costs by $200
million a year by 2016. The company expects same-store sales growth
will be slightly positive in the fourth quarter, projecting a
low-single-digit increase for fiscal 2015.
Its annual meeting is expected to take place in June, Jana said.
The firm owns a stake of about 9.8%.
PetSmart shares were up one cent to $78.14 in late trading.
Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com
Access Investor Kit for CVS Caremark Corp.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US1266501006
Access Investor Kit for The Kroger Co.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US5010441013
Access Investor Kit for PetSmart, Inc.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US7167681060
Access Investor Kit for RadioShack Corp.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US7504381036
Access Investor Kit for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US9311421039
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires