DuPont cites backers amid board fight

DuPont Co. keeps up its near-daily propaganda blitz against billionaire activist Nelson Peltz (Trian Funds Management) and his slate of insurgent would-be directors, who are contesting the Wilmington-based bio/chemical company's board elections May 13.

In February, I noted Peltz's firm's ties to the California teachers' pension fund (CalSTRS) and Legg Mason, which together with Trian owned about 3.4% of DuPont. Peltz hasn't made clear he has support from other investors (what will Vanguard do? It backs management, usually.)

For its part, DuPont today sent shareholders quoting support from these investors and analysts:

"Value destruction from a complete split [between DuPont's bio and chemical halves, which Peltz in the past supported] could be about $20 billion from lost working capital efficiencies, high taxes from asset sale gains, and additional overhead from splitting businesses, among other factors. We maintain our view that a majority of investors will side with DuPont." -- Frank J. Mitsch, senior analyst, Wells Fargo, from a March 27 report to clients.

"Mr. Peltz has openly declared that his goal is to shut down DuPont's central research labs [including DuPont Experimental Station near Wilmington) and split the company... (which) would directly dilute scientific progress... It's time for DuPont to shareholders to give Ms. Kullman a resounding vote of confidence... (or else) one of America's great science companies will be at risk." -- Bill George, Harvard Business School prof, Goldman and ExxonMobil director, former CEO of Medtronic, here in the New York Times April 9.

"We bought DuPont before this happened, and we do think this is, at minimum, a distraction, at maximum a dislocation to the plan that is in place. We want this to be resolved, and with DuPont winning the proxy." -- Robert Zaguins, managing director at Portland, Ore.-based Jensen Investment Management, which owns 1.9 million DuPont shares in this Reuters story which also claims mutual fund giant Fidelity Investments wants the contest ended. 

"We have seen DuPont outperform the market and take significant steps to improve productivity, return capital to shareholders, and position the company for the future," said Thomas Weary, CIO of Lau Associates, a Wilmington firm that owns around 85,000 shares of DuPont. "We do not believe Trian has made a compelling case for its breakup plan, which could eliminate many of the synergies of scale and science across the portfolio that make DuPont a leader in the marketplace."

Where are Peltz's investor-supporters?