Advance Auto Parts announced the appointment of three new members to its board of directors following the appointment of hedge funds Third Point LLC and Saddle Point Management as automotive aftermarket parts providers.
The company plans to add an executive with expertise in automotive supply chain and merchandising to its current nine-member board of directors.
The board shakeup comes just six months after the company selected former U.S. Army Capt. Shane O’Kelly, who previously held senior positions at Home Depot, as chief executive officer, replacing Tom Greco. I was disappointed.
Mr. O’Kelly was hired in September with a mission to turn around the company, just as Advance Auto Parts’ stock price plummeted last year and S&P Global Ratings downgraded the company’s debt to “junk.”
The company’s financial performance and stock price also lag behind rivals AutoZone and O’Reilly Automotive.
As part of its restructuring plan, Advance Auto Parts is considering selling Worldpac, the genuine auto parts wholesaler it acquired when it acquired General Parts International in 2014. .
Immediately joining Advance Auto Parts’ board of directors is Brent Windom, who previously served as CEO of Uni-Select, a distributor of automotive refinish, industrial coatings and automotive aftermarket parts. Gregory Smith, executive vice president of medical device company Medtronic, and Thomas Siebold, who spent much of his career at O’Reilly Automotive.
Third Point, run by billionaire investor Daniel Loeb, and Saddle Point, run by Roy Katzovich, a former partner at Pershing Square Capital Management, are expected to acquire the company in 2022. The two companies entered into an investment partnership last year after launching an investigation into the matter, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. .
Both companies currently have a beneficial ownership interest of less than 5% in Advance Auto Parts.
Both Third Point and Saddle Point have pursued activist strategies with Loeb, most recently threatening a proxy fight in Bath & Body Works last year.
The two funds are the first activists Advance Auto Parts has faced since Starboard Value took the position and Jeffrey Smith, the company’s chief investment officer, joined the board in 2015. Ta.
He resigned in 2020.
Mr. Smith supported the appointment of Eugene Lee, CEO of Darden Restaurants and Chairman of the Board of Advance Auto Parts in 2020, to the board.
