Loading...
Loading...
eBay Inc.
today announced that it has reached an agreement with
investor Carl Icahn, ending the proxy contest before the company's upcoming
annual meeting of stockholders. Icahn is withdrawing both his proposal to
separate the company's PayPal business and his two nominees to the company's
Board of Directors.
The company said it has agreed to Icahn's suggestion to appoint business
executive David Dorman as an independent director to its Board of Directors.
This will expand the number of independent directors to 10 on the 12-member
board. The other two directors are eBay Inc. Founder and Chairman Pierre
Omidyar, the company's largest shareholder, and company President and CEO John
Donahoe.
Dorman, 60, is a Founding Partner of Centerview Capital Technology. He brings
over 38 years of senior executive, operational, board and investment
experience. He is currently Chairman of the Board of CVS Caremark Corporation.
Dorman was a board member of Motorola, Inc. beginning in 2006 and served as
Chairman of the board from 2008 until 2012. After the separation of Motorola
Mobility and Motorola Solutions, Dorman became lead independent director of
Motorola Solutions. He also serves on the boards of YUM! Brands, Inc. and the
Georgia Tech Foundation in Atlanta.
Prior to Centerview, Dorman was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AT&T
Corp., the largest telecommunications company in the world. During his time at
AT&T he led the company through a profound reinvention and transformation
prior to completing the merger of AT&T Corp. and SBC Communications in
November 2005. Dorman joined AT&T as President in December 2000 and was named
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in November 2002.
“We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with Carl, settling proxy
issues and enabling our board and management team to focus our full attention
on a goal every shareholder agrees on – growing PayPal and eBay, and
delivering sustainable shareholder value,” said eBay Inc. President and CEO
John Donahoe.
“As a result of our conversations, it became clear that Carl and I strongly
agree on the potential of PayPal and our company,” Donahoe said. “I respect
Carl's willingness to work together to drive sustainable shareholder value
today and into the future. His record shows that he has done this with many
other companies in the past.
“We also are honored to have Dave Dorman join our board as our tenth
independent director,” Donahoe said. “Dave brings outstanding expertise and an
impeccable reputation to our board. We look forward to benefitting from his
insight and experience. Our board remains committed to evaluating all
strategic options for our company to ensure we are creating sustainable value
for shareholders.”
Commenting on his appointment, Dorman said: “I have tremendous admiration for
eBay and what the company has accomplished under John's leadership, and I am
honored to join such an outstanding Board of Directors. I also respect Carl
Icahn's commitment to driving shareholder value for companies he believes in,
and I look forward to helping drive growth for PayPal and eBay together.”
Icahn has signed a confidentiality agreement covering any non-public
information that directors and certain officers of the company may share with
him. In addition, the company agreed not to adopt a policy precluding such
persons from speaking to Icahn, and that it would advise them that they may
speak to Icahn if they are willing to do so.
Icahn stated: “We are happy to have reached this détente with eBay and believe
that Dave Dorman will be a great addition to the company's board of directors.
As chairman of Motorola, Mr. Dorman, working in tandem with our board
nominees, guided the company through the successful separation of its mobile
device and home businesses, which greatly enhanced shareholder value.
“Regarding the confidentiality agreement, we have entered into similar
agreements in the past with other companies and, as results show, they have
worked with great success,” Icahn said. “I am optimistic that this arrangement
with eBay will enhance our ability to discuss large issues affecting the
company with greater intelligence and will help to enhance shareholder value.
“Over the last week I have had a number of conversations with John,” Icahn
said. “We both strongly believe in the great potential of eBay and PayPal, and
I have found a number of his ideas to be extremely compelling. However, I
continue to believe that eBay would benefit from the separation of PayPal at
some point in the near future and intend to continue to press my case through
confidential discussions with the company. While John has made no commitments
regarding such a separation, he and I have agreed to meet regularly when he is
in New York to discuss strategic alternatives. We look forward to working with
the eBay's board of directors and management with a common objective of
creating sustainable value for all shareholders. Our record shows that our
involvement with boards and management has greatly enhanced long term value
for all shareholders, and we hope and believe this will continue with eBay.”
The company confirmed that its first quarter earnings call will take place at
2:00 p.m. PDT on April 29, 2014, and that its annual meeting will be held at
8:00 a.m. PDT on May 13, 2014.
Loading...
Loading...
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
Join Now: Free!
Already a member?Sign in