Friday, October 10, 2014

Darden Board Fired

In most proxy fights, only a few board members are replaced at any time. New York hedge fund Starboard Value has been in a protracted battle with the Darden Restaurant, Inc., Board of Directors and management regarding the direction of the company. Today, it was announced that Starboard had convinced enough investors to replace all 12 Darden directors. Although replacing an entire board of directors does happen, it usually occurs with smaller companies. This vote was unique as Darden is the largest full-service restaurant company in the U.S., with 2013 sales of $8.55 billion.