Believes Significant Cost Reductions, Separation of Company into Two Businesses, and Corporate Governance Improvements are Needed to Maximize Shareholder Value
Sees Approximately 50% Upside to Emerson's Share Price, Equating to Over $20 Billion of Equity Value
Full Letter and Presentation Available at www.deshawmaterials.com
The D. E. Shaw Group ("D. E. Shaw"), which has been an investor in Emerson Electric Co. (the "Company", "Emerson Electric" or "Emerson") (NYSE:EMR) for over four years and currently hold a more than 1.0% interest in the common stock and equivalents of the Company, today sent a letter to the Board of Directors of Emerson.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191015005727/en/
The letter and presentation can be downloaded at www.deshawmaterials.com.
The full text of the letter follows:
October 15, 2019
Board of Directors
Emerson Electric Corporation
8000 West Florissant Avenue PO Box 4100
St. Louis, MO 63136
Attn: Chairman David Farr
Attn: Lead Director Clemens Boersig
Dear Members of the Board:
Emerson Has Been a Perennial Underperformer
Despite Emerson's brand recognition and reputation, the hard truth is that Emerson has not performed for its shareholders.
This pattern holds true, as noted in the table below, when Emerson is compared to its peers within its two segments (automation and climate), to an index of multi-industrial companies, to peers selected by Institutional Shareholder Services, and even to an index of peers with heavier oil and gas exposure.
Capital invested elsewhere has consistently generated better returns than capital invested in Emerson.
The Underperformance Stems from Decisions Made by the Board and Management
During our meetings, and in the materials we have presented to you multiple times, we described how decisions made by the Board and management team have directly led to Emerson's substantial stock market underperformance.
The D. E. Shaw Group's Efforts to Assist in Creating Value
We have spent considerable time over the past two months outlining our concerns and proposed solutions in detail for the Board and management team. Rather than continue to engage with us in constructive, private dialogue, the Board appears instead to be laying the public groundwork for a full-throated defense of its indefensible track record.
Rather than muddying the waters, we suggest instead Emerson acknowledge its shortcomings and commit to addressing them.
Emerson Needs Change
We are pleased that in our private meetings, the Board and management team have acknowledged the need for change at Emerson. However, we believe half-measures will only produce mediocre results, and so we encourage a fully independent, objective, and extensive strategy and operations review.
We believe there are highly actionable portfolio and cost actions that can result in significant value creation for shareholders. In particular, the set of steps we have proposed could result in more than 50% appreciation in Emerson's stock price, which equates to more than $20 billion of value in the aggregate.
As described more fully in the presentation we are sending you today, we believe the optimal path forward for Emerson is to:
Next Steps
Emerson has best-in-class assets with leading market positions but has not been effective at creating value for shareholders. The Board's decisions regarding capital allocation, cost structure, business configuration, corporate governance, and executive compensation have cost shareholders significant value over time.
While we appreciate that the Board has recently launched a "review" of the Company, we believe urgent action is required and that any such review would benefit from objective, independent, and fresh perspectives.
Best Regards,
About the D. E. Shaw Group
1 Market data as 9/26/2019 prior to press reports of the D. E. Shaw Group's involvement with the Company. Automation Solutions peers include FLS, HON, ROK, ROR; Climate peers include LII, IR, UTX and JCI; Primary Tools peer is SWK
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191015005727/en/
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