Nelson Peltz Gets Seat on Mondelez Board, Backs Off Push for Pepsi Merger

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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Activist investor Nelson Peltz was named to the board of snack food company Mondelez Inc. (NASDAQ: MDLZ) Tuesday, likely to avoid a proxy fight, and he says that he is no longer pushing for a deal with PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP).

The appointment of Peltz, one of Mondelez’s largest shareholders, expands the Mondelez board to 12 members. The company said he will be one of the nominees for election at its next shareholders meeting.

Peltz has been critical of the performance of the maker of Oreos and Ritz crackers since it split off from Kraft Foods in October of 2012. Last year, Trian Fund Management, of which Peltz is a co-founder, recommended that PepsiCo spin off its beverage business and merge its snacks business with Mondelez. Peltz also has a sizable stake in Pepsi and a seat on its board.

PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi has repeatedly rejected the idea of splitting up the company’s beverage and snack businesses. “These two categories are better together, not just in the United States, but around the world,” she said.

Peltz has long been an advocate of corporate splits as a way to unlock value. In 2008, he pressed Cadbury Schweppes to spin off its beverage businesses. His influence was key in Kraft’s purchase of Cadbury, and the subsequent breakup of Kraft. He may have backed off his plans for Mondelez and PepsiCo for now, but no doubt he has not given up.

Shares of Mondelez were down 2.5% in early trading Tuesday to $34.35. The 52-week range is $26.45 to $36.05, and the mean price target was $35.61 before this news.

Kraft Foods Group Inc. (NASDAQ: KRFT) and PepsiCo were up fractionally in morning trading.

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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