Hangry for more

10 May 2017 By Lauren Silva Laughlin Follow @TheRealLSL

The $12 bln organic-food purveyor is replacing more than half of its board, a step to appease Jana Partners. But the fund, with 8 percent of shares, wants a sale, and others are pounding the table. As long as Whole Foods same-store sales keep declining, they’ll stay hungry.

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Whole Foods Market is adding five new directors to its 12-person board and has appointed a new chairwoman of the board and chair of the nominating and governance committee. The new board consists of nine directors who are current or former CEOs or CFOs.

On May 10, the company also said that sales in the second quarter increased 1.1 percent to $3.7 billion while comparable sales decreased 2.8 percent. Net income for the quarter was $99 million, down from $142 million in the same quarter last year.

On April 10, activist hedge fund Jana Partners disclosed an 8.3 percent stake in the company, up from 7.15 percent the month before. In the filing, the investor said it planned to initiate a review of strategic alternatives, alleging that the company had not engaged in such discussions itself. About two weeks later, mutual-fund manager Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers sent a letter to the company urging it to talk to advisers about a sale or joint venture.

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