What The Activism World Is Talking About

Trian Partners had long been expected to seek a board seat at Procter & Gamble, and yesterday’s announcement of its nomination of Nelson Peltz confirmed that objective. The activist still claims to want to avoid a proxy fight but as at DuPont two years ago, it will pull out all the stops to get Peltz in the boardroom, where he will establish a new route for information to reach directors, push for non-executive sessions and, judging by a presentation released yesterday, demand an overhaul of the Cincinnati-based company’s operating divisions and devolve responsibility for budgets. Trian has tried to keep the focus even narrower and more cordial than at DuPont: one nominee, no criticism of CEO...