Activist hedge fund firm Sachem Head Capital Management’s Managing Partner Scott Ferguson will be given a seat on Delivery Hero’s supervisory board, after building a 3.6% stake in the Germany-based food delivery company, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The report cites a statement released by Delivery Hero on Monday as confirming that the company is proposing to add two additional members to its six-strong board and has nominated four candidates including Ferguson for election at its annual general meeting on 19 June.
The moves comes after intense criticism of Delivery Hero by the $3.6bn hedge fund which, according to an earlier report by Bloomberg, regards both the company’s share price and its operational performance as disappointing compared with its peers.
Sachem Head had previously called for Delivery Hero’s CEO and Co-Founder Niklas Oestberg to step down. Ferguson’s appointment to the board may have staved off this possibility for now, but according to a client note from Jefferies, Oestberg is now “more vulnerable”.
Chairman Martin Enderle has agreed to resign at the June AGM but will stay on the board, with the company proposing Kristin Lund, the outgoing CEO of Schibsted, as his replacement. Roger Rabalais, Managing Partner at Delivery Hero’s biggest investor Prosus, which holds a stake of around 30% of the business, is another proposed candidate.
