Bill Ackman’s Battle With ADP Is a Litmus Test for Activist Investing
- 7 years ago
Bill Ackman’s Battle With ADP Is a Litmus Test for Activist Investing
“This is a big, lumbering bureaucracy,” Mr. Ackman said of ADP, laying out his case that the company was being overtaken by smaller, nimbler rivals.
“Then there was a change in leadership, and now they’re making a lot of progress and a lot of money.”
Mr. Ackman said that he had initially asked the company to work with him and avoid a public fight, but
that Mr. Rodriguez and the board had become confrontational.
“They’re being left behind.”
The showdown will come to a head on Tuesday, when shareholders will vote whether to elect three
new directors, including Mr. Ackman, to the ADP board, replacing existing directors.
As a result, Mr. Ackman started a campaign to elect himself
and two other directors — Veronica M. Hagen, the former chief executive of Polymer Group, and V. Paul Unruh, a director at Symantec and a former Bechtel executive — to the ADP board
Over the last three months, ADP and Mr. Ackman have traded verbal assaults, taken out full-page ads in major newspapers including ,
and used websites, webcasts and presentations to make their case to investors.
“This is a big, lumbering bureaucracy,” Mr. Ackman said of ADP, laying out his case that the company was being overtaken by smaller, nimbler rivals.
“Then there was a change in leadership, and now they’re making a lot of progress and a lot of money.”
Mr. Ackman said that he had initially asked the company to work with him and avoid a public fight, but
that Mr. Rodriguez and the board had become confrontational.
“They’re being left behind.”
The showdown will come to a head on Tuesday, when shareholders will vote whether to elect three
new directors, including Mr. Ackman, to the ADP board, replacing existing directors.
As a result, Mr. Ackman started a campaign to elect himself
and two other directors — Veronica M. Hagen, the former chief executive of Polymer Group, and V. Paul Unruh, a director at Symantec and a former Bechtel executive — to the ADP board
Over the last three months, ADP and Mr. Ackman have traded verbal assaults, taken out full-page ads in major newspapers including ,
and used websites, webcasts and presentations to make their case to investors.