Salesforce Inc. has reached an agreement with activist investor Elliott Investment Management, which will not proceed with its planned director nominations.
(Bloomberg) — Salesforce Inc. has reached an agreement with activist investor Elliott Investment Management, which will not proceed with its planned director nominations.
Elliott’s multibillion-dollar stake in the software maker became public in January. The activist firm had put forward a slate of board directors in the open nomination window for the annual shareholder meeting, which usually is scheduled about June.
The enterprise software giant has attracted several activist investors in recent months. Beyond Elliott, Starboard Value, ValueAct, and Jeff Ubben’s Inclusive Capital have taken stakes in the company. Dan Loeb’s Third Point also has invested, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Pressure has been mounting on San Francisco-based Salesforce as revenue growth has slowed after a half-decade of steady hiring and large acquisitions. It also has been buffeted by executive changes since the November resignation of heir-apparent Bret Taylor and Slack co-founder Stewart Butterfield. The company in January announced the largest headcount reduction in its history and Chief Operating Officer Brian Millham said on Friday that Salesforce is considering another round of major job cuts.
In January, Salesforce appointed three new independent directors, including ValueAct Chief Executive Officer Mason Morfit. It also tapped Arnold Donald, the former CEO of Carnival Corp., and Mastercard Inc. Chief Financial Officer Sachin Mehra. Morfit said he has enjoyed working with Salesforce co-founder and CEO Marc Benioff and looks forward to helping the executive team “deliver profitable growth and shareholder returns.”
The stock soared earlier this month after the company raised its forecast for profit margins, doubled stock buyback plans and topped analysts’ estimates for sales and earnings in the fiscal fourth quarter.
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