NEW YORK (AP) — DuPont says that it has won a proxy fight against billionaire investor Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management LP. All 12 of the chemical maker's nominees were elected to its board during the annual shareholders meeting, according to preliminary results.
"We are pleased with the outcome of the vote and especially appreciate the strong expressions of support from so many of our shareholders for our strategic transformation and the continued execution of our plan," DuPont Chair and CEO Ellen Kullman said in a statement.
Trian, one of DuPont's biggest shareholders, said in a written statement on Wednesday that regardless of the results of the vote, it believes DuPont stockholders will be less tolerant of certain things, such as continued missed earnings forecasts or extraordinary charges. The firm said that it will continue to watch DuPont's performance closely.
Trian, which owns about 24.6 million DuPont shares, had nominated four directors for DuPont's board. It has been pushing for the business to split into two companies, but DuPont has argued that such a move would destroy value.
DuPont, based in Wilmington, Delaware, had added two new independent directors to its board in February and offered to appoint one of Trian's nominees if the fund dropped its other candidates and voted for the DuPont slate. Trian said at that time that it would continue its proxy fight.
Shares of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. dropped $3.86, or 5.2 percent, to $70.50 in early morning trading.