Breaking News
Investing Pro 0
⏰ Save Valuable Time with Faster Stock Data & Tools Go Pro Now

Ryan Cohen hires Icahn proxy solicitor Harkins Kovler for possible Bed Bath fight

Stock Markets Mar 10, 2022 09:26AM ET
Saved. See Saved Items.
This article has already been saved in your Saved Items
 
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A customer leaves a Bed Bath & Beyond store in Novi, Michigan, U.S., January 29, 2021. REUTERS/Emily Elconin
 
BBBY
-28.00%
Add to/Remove from Watchlist
Add to Watchlist
Add Position

Position added successfully to:

Please name your holdings portfolio
 
GME
+2.31%
Add to/Remove from Watchlist
Add to Watchlist
Add Position

Position added successfully to:

Please name your holdings portfolio
 
SWX
+0.02%
Add to/Remove from Watchlist
Add to Watchlist
Add Position

Position added successfully to:

Please name your holdings portfolio
 
CHWY
+1.36%
Add to/Remove from Watchlist
Add to Watchlist
Add Position

Position added successfully to:

Please name your holdings portfolio
 

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss

BOSTON (Reuters) - Ryan Cohen's RC Ventures LLC, which owns nearly 10% of Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY), has hired a proxy solicitor, signalling the firm is ramping up for a potential proxy fight at the housewares retailer, two sources said.

RC Ventures has retained Harkins Kovler, the solicitor frequently used by prominent activist investor Carl Icahn in his corporate battles, said the sources, who are not permitted to discuss the private matter publicly.

A representative for Cohen did not respond to requests for comment. Harkins Kovler declined to comment.

A proxy solicitor polls shareholders on how they plan to vote on hotly contested corporate matters such as mergers or proxy fights.

Hiring one signals that Cohen is taking the next steps to prepare for a potential fight with Bed Bath & Beyond.

Cohen, who co-founded online pet food company Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) and is chairman of the board at GameStop (NYSE:GME), disclosed his stake in Bed Bath & Beyond in a letter in which he urged the company to narrow its focus on operational and inventory improvements.

He also urged the company to consider strategic alternatives, including a possible sale or spin-off of its buybuy Baby business.

In the letter, Cohen estimated buybuy Baby could be worth billions of dollars on its own now that sales are nearing $1.5 billion with double-digit margins.

A source familiar with Cohen's thinking said the investor is open to a negotiated compromise with the company if it includes significant boardroom change and a committee to review strategic alternatives led by new independent directors.

Bed Bath & Beyond's board currently has 11 members.

At the same time, Cohen is also preparing for a potential fight by selecting potential director candidates, the source said.

Since Cohen's stake became known, Bed Bath & Beyond's stock price has surged 39%.

Harkins Kovler, which was founded in 2015 by former D.F. King executives, is currently handling Icahn's campaign at Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX).

Ryan Cohen hires Icahn proxy solicitor Harkins Kovler for possible Bed Bath fight
 

Related Articles

Add a Comment

Comment Guidelines

We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:  

  •            Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.

  •           Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed. 

  •           Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.

  • Use standard writing style. Include punctuation and upper and lower cases. Comments that are written in all caps and contain excessive use of symbols will be removed.
  • NOTE: Spam and/or promotional messages and comments containing links will be removed. Phone numbers, email addresses, links to personal or business websites, Skype/Telegram/WhatsApp etc. addresses (including links to groups) will also be removed; self-promotional material or business-related solicitations or PR (ie, contact me for signals/advice etc.), and/or any other comment that contains personal contact specifcs or advertising will be removed as well. In addition, any of the above-mentioned violations may result in suspension of your account.
  • Doxxing. We do not allow any sharing of private or personal contact or other information about any individual or organization. This will result in immediate suspension of the commentor and his or her account.
  • Don’t monopolize the conversation. We appreciate passion and conviction, but we also strongly believe in giving everyone a chance to air their point of view. Therefore, in addition to civil interaction, we expect commenters to offer their opinions succinctly and thoughtfully, but not so repeatedly that others are annoyed or offended. If we receive complaints about individuals who take over a thread or forum, we reserve the right to ban them from the site, without recourse.
  • Only English comments will be allowed.
  • Any comment you publish, together with your investing.com profile, will be public on investing.com and may be indexed and available through third party search engines, such as Google.

Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.

Write your thoughts here
 
Are you sure you want to delete this chart?
 
Post
Post also to:
 
Replace the attached chart with a new chart ?
1000
Your ability to comment is currently suspended due to negative user reports. Your status will be reviewed by our moderators.
Please wait a minute before you try to comment again.
Thanks for your comment. Please note that all comments are pending until approved by our moderators. It may therefore take some time before it appears on our website.
Comments (1)
Waldemar Gau
Waldemar Gau Mar 10, 2022 11:37AM ET
Saved. See Saved Items.
This comment has already been saved in your Saved Items
kick sHF out of bbby
 
Are you sure you want to delete this chart?
 
Post
 
Replace the attached chart with a new chart ?
1000
Your ability to comment is currently suspended due to negative user reports. Your status will be reviewed by our moderators.
Please wait a minute before you try to comment again.
Add Chart to Comment
Confirm Block

Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?

By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.

%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List

Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.

Report this comment

I feel that this comment is:

Comment flagged

Thank You!

Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Continue with Google
or
Sign up with Email