Facing an Activist Investor, Lowe's Appoints New Directors
January 19 2018 - 9:11AM
Dow Jones News
By Allison Prang
Lowe's Cos. said Friday it is appointing two new board members
-- including a pioneer of activist investing -- after talks with
investment firm D.E. Shaw & Co.
The home-improvement retailer said Relational Investors
co-founder David Batchelder and Adtalem Global Education Chief
Executive Lisa Wardell will join its board March 22.
Mr. Batchelder, Ms. Wardell and T. Rowe Price Group Chairman
Brian Rogers will also be put up for election to the board at the
company's annual meeting later this year.
The company's announcement comes less than a week after
Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that
D.E. Shaw had taken a stake in Lowe's.
"We are pleased to welcome David, Brian and Lisa as new
independent directors to the Lowe's board and especially value the
constructive discussions we have had with the D.E. Shaw group,"
Lowe's CEO Robert Niblock said in prepared remarks.
D.E. Shaw portfolio manager Quentin Koffey commended Lowe's
decision and in prepared remarks said "the refreshed board and the
management team are committed to achieving outstanding performance
and maximizing shareholder value."
D.E. Shaw's engagement with Lowe's follows a campaign it
launched last year with EQT Corp., as it pushed for the energy
company to break up after it completed its purchase of Rice Energy.
Mr. Koffey joined D.E. Shaw from Elliott Management Corp., where he
helped run a number of the well-known activist's campaigns.
Relational Investors, which is now closed, had pushed for
changes in Home Depot Inc. more than a decade ago.
Shares of Lowe's rose 2.5% in premarket trading. Shares have
gained 42% over the last year.
David Benoit contributed to this article
Write to Allison Prang at allison.prang@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 19, 2018 08:56 ET (13:56 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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