Jana Partners has ramped up the pressure on Freshpet to consider a sale of the business by recruiting industry expert Kurt Schmidt to help with its campaign and possibly serve as a director candidate for the pet food company, according to a report by Reuters.
The report cites unnamed sources as revealing that Jana Partners, which reported owning a 9.9% stake in Freshpet in September, has added Schmidt to a group of advisers that already includes a former Kraft Foods chief financial officer and a former chief executive officer at Jarden Corp.
Schmidt, who currently serves as a director at Campbell Soup Co, having joined the board there in 2018 as part of a settlement with hedge fund Third Point LLC, was previously chief executive officer of premium pet food brand Blue Buffalo, which was purchased by General Mills Inc in 2017.
As well as exploring the possibility of selling the business, Jana Partners wants Freshpet to consider additional operational changes, as well as looking at improving how it allocates capital. The activist investment firm has yet to say whether it plans to nominate director candidates in a proxy battle.
Freshpet’s stock price hit a record high of $185 in 2021 before crashing 79% to less than $39 a share in September 2022. It has since put on more than 50% since Jana made a regulatory filing declaring its stake in the company with the stock trading $58.56 a share last Friday.
