Dive Brief:
- Nelson Peltz, who has been consistently rejected by management with demands that PepsiCo spin off its snack business as a way to increase value, suggested that he may force a proxy fight with the board.
- Peltz, who runs hedge fund Trian Fund Management, said he's spoken to roughly 100 of PepsiCo's top shareholders and that they "are starting to agree" with his call for a break-up.
- Peltz, speaking at the CNBC Institutional Investor Delivering Alpha Conference, also singled out troubled retailer Family Dollar Stores, which he failed to take control of in 2011, for criticism.
Dive Insight:
Peltz is many things ... willing to reconsider his position is not one of them. PepsiCo and its board have been clear that they don't agree with Peltz' plan to seperate the company's snack business from its beverages unit. Yet every few weeks he returns to the public eye, issuing demands and distributing 37-page letters to other shareholders.