Monday, December 17, 2007
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!

Related Companies
BAB, Inc. (BABB)
Starbucks Corporation (SBUX)
Triarc Companies Inc. (TRY)
Name
E-mail
Home page

Comment (HTML not allowed)  

Enter the code shown (prevents robots):