Starboard Value said all of its nominees for the board of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) were recommended by the two leading independent proxy voting advisory firms—Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis.
In addition, Proxy Mosaic, a corporate governance research firm is encouraging the shareholders of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) to vote in favor of Starboard’s nominees.
Starboard nominees have “superior industry experience”
According to Starboard Value, Glass Lewis, ISS and Proxy Mosaic shared the same view that all of its nominees for the board of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) are “far more compelling” and have “superior industry experience.”
ISS noted that Starboard’s nominees have a rich experience on public company boards, restaurant operations, franchise and non-franchise business models and turnarounds within and outside the industry. The proxy voting advisory firm also emphasized that the activist hedge fund’s nominees are financial experts even in real estate.
On the other hand, Glass Lewis emphasized that the nominees of Starboard “possess a well-rounded variety of significant experiences, which appear tailored to Darden’s current needs.”
In addition, Glass Lewis noted that the nominees have significant experiences in operational turnaround, supply-chain management, marketing, finance and real estate. Furthermore, the proxy voting advisory firm emphasized that the nominees are well-respected corporate governance experts.
Meanwhile, Proxy Mosaic said the “level of detail in Starboard’s strategic plan is impressive, and illustrates the benefit of working with a slate of nominees with significant industry experience.”
Starboard Value encouraged its fellow shareholders at Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) to support its nominees given the recommendations of Glass Lewis, ISS and Proxy Mosaic.
Starboard’s CEO Jeffrey Smith said the firm’s nominees are excited and ready to step in immediately and start working tirelessly with the dedicated employees of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) to restore excellence throughout the company.” They are also ready to put the company back on track for long-term value creation for all shareholders.
“With the prospect of such an incredibly bright future for Darden in mind, we hope that shareholders will follow the lead of the two most highly-respected proxy advisory firms by voting for our twelve supremely qualified nominees,” added Smith.
He also emphasized that the proxy advisory firms conducted an detailed and objective analysis of the election contest, and both concluded that Starboard’s nominees for directors are best suited to supervise Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI).
