Panera Break Co.
(NDAQ:PNRA) may face a shakeup after Roy Disney's Shamrock Activist
Value Fund set its targets on the restaurant chain. The activist hedge
fund demanded that the company declassify its staggered board and
separate the chairman and chief executive roles, according to a
Schedule 13D filing made with the SEC on Friday.
Shamrock,
which owns 5.46 percent of the Panera, also demanded the same voting
rights for all of its common stock and suggested that the company add
some new board members with "relevant operating experience". The hedge
fund also proposed that the company work to increase its compensation
plan to provide increased transparency and urged the company to
leverage its strong balance sheet to institute a share repurchase.
These
initiatives are collectively designed to help the company's stock
recover after dropping more than 30 percent so far this year. Separated
roles and increased transparency would help the market become more
trusting of the company, while a share repurchase of Class A stock
would help even out the field for all shareholders.
In the end,
these suggestions may increase trust and transparency, but new board
members and direction will be needed to turn the company around.
However, this stock is definitely one
worth watching!
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