Trian Fund Management sold about $1.1 billion worth of its holdings in Mondelēz International over the past two weeks, as the investment firm’s co-founder Nelson Peltz stepped down from the board.
Funds managed by Trian sold $793 million worth of common shares in the snack giant on Tuesday, according to a regulatory filing. Another $285 million worth of shares were sold on February 27, according to a separate filing. The funds also unwound equity swaps as part of the transactions.
Trian still owns about 17.8 million Mondelēz shares, or 1.2% of the Deerfield, Illinois-based company, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That makes it the company’s 12th largest holder.
Mondelēz shares have gained 2.9% this year to trade around $44 apiece. Since the end of 2015, the stock has been roughly flat.
A spokesman for Mondelēz said Trian had informed the company of the sale and said it was linked to the end of a lockup period in one of Trian’s co-investment funds that only held Mondelēz stock. Trian reiterated the reason for the sale.
“Trian is very pleased with its investment in Mondelēz International and believes that the company’s board and management team are keenly focused on the creation of long-term shareholder value,” a spokeswoman added in a statement.
Peltz Move
Billionaire Peltz said last month he would step down from Mondelez on March 1, as he prepared to take a seat on the board of Procter & Gamble. Peter May, Trian’s co-founder, replaced Peltz on the board of Mondelēz, alongside Debra Crew.
Peltz joined the snack maker’s board in 2014, less than two years after it was created as part of a split with Kraft Foods.
Peltz had pushed former Chief Executive Officer Irene Rosenfeld, who orchestrated the creation of Mondelēz, to merge it with PepsiCo. He ultimately abandoned the campaign and joined the board, where he helped oversee a cost-cutting push at the maker of Oreos and Ritz crackers.
Trian, started in 2005, manages more than $10 billion and has typically focused its investments on consumer, industrial and financial companies, often targeting large conglomerates.
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