Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN: PSH) (NA: PSH) today
released an email sent from Pershing Square Capital Management,
L.P. to its investors. The text of the email is set forth
below:
Dear Pershing Square Investor,
We want to share with you the statement that Bill Ackman made
this morning at the ADP Annual Shareholder Meeting following the
announcement of the results of our proxy contest:
“Let me first just say that we came in peace. When we invested
in ADP, we did so because we believed that ADP was a great company
with a wonderful legacy, but an uncertain future. We believed that
the company had underachieved its potential, and that we could help
ADP address the issues and shortcomings we had identified.
Initially, this was a surprising message for some shareholders who
have experienced a rising stock price and growing dividends over
many years. Often, however – as my co-nominee Ronee Hagen has so
eloquently pointed out – the financial statements are a lagging
indicator of what is really going on at a company. The fact that
ADP needs a wake-up call is no surprise to its salesforce who every
day is selling against competitors with better product offerings.
We are very appreciative of the hard work of ADP’s associates and
the many associates who have reached out to support us during this
contest who have the best interests of ADP at heart.
Over the last three months, we have helped ADP shareholders
understand what the company’s associates already know very well.
ADP needs to improve its technology, its Enterprise product
offerings, and its culture. A 90-day proxy contest is a wake-up
call for every management team, and our large investment of time
and money in this contest has already benefited all ADP
stakeholders not only because billions of dollars of shareholder
value have been created.
Our goal in this proxy contest was to help make ADP the best
company it can be so its future will be as bright or brighter than
its past. This is no small undertaking in light of the company’s
illustrious history. Unfortunately, all of us have seen far too
many great and dominant companies – think Kodak, Polaroid, IBM to
name a few – disappear or fade away because of complacency, an
unwillingness to take new competitors seriously, resistance to
change, and deteriorating cultures. As a result of this proxy
contest, we believe these risks for ADP are meaningfully lower than
they were only 90 days ago.
While I and our other nominees did not get elected to the board
this year, we have accomplished much of what we set out to do so
far. ADP’s shareholders, management and board are now fully
informed about the opportunities for improvement, and the risks of
management’s failure to perform. Shareholders, including Pershing
Square, can now hold management accountable for the company’s
public commitments during this contest so that ADP remains the
dominant company in the Human Capital Management industry.
In order to win this contest and get the support of one of the
most influential proxy advisory firms, ADP’s board and management
have made a number of important commitments to shareholders. The
three most significant of which are:
(1) After Employer Services’ organic revenue growth decelerates
to 2%-3% this fiscal year, growth will reaccelerate to
approximately 7%-9% growth in the fiscal year beginning July 1,
2018 which will continue into 2019 in order to achieve the
company’s guidance of 6%-7% organic growth over the next three
fiscal years;
(2) ADP will increase operational profit by 500-600 basis points
over the next three fiscal years despite a decline in operational
profit in the first quarter of this first fiscal year; and
(3) ADP’s “upcoming” release of Vantage 2.0 will enable ADP to
offer better service and recover Enterprise market share
losses.
We will hold the board and management accountable for these
commitments to investors.
One of the large shareholders who did not support us told us:
“The board and management have heard you loud and clear. The onus
is now on them to live up to their commitments. If they don’t, you
will have our full support next year.”
Here’s to hoping that the company delivers and we don’t need to
run for election next year. Nothing could make me happier than
seeing Carlos and the Board succeed in meeting and exceeding their
commitments. We intend to be a supportive shareholder who is not
shy about sharing our ideas with the company. The bottom line is:
we will do everything we can to
help.
I now wish to make a few comments on the current U.S. proxy
election system as it leaves much to be desired. We were greatly
disadvantaged in this contest because ADP did not permit the use of
a universal proxy card where each shareholder could choose which
directors it wanted to represent them on one proxy card. As a
result, while we received the support of all of the proxy advisory
firms, one chose to “facilitate” my election by recommending a
withhold vote for one director on the management proxy card. It did
so in order to decrease the likelihood that our two other nominees
would get elected. This likely cost us the election. Had there been
a universal proxy card, this firm would have simply recommended a
vote for me and I would likely have been elected. It is incumbent
upon all investors to insist that all companies use a universal
proxy card in each shareholder election to make sure that
shareholders can easily select the directors they wish to represent
them.
I would now like to thank members of our team who did a superb
job on this contest. First, I would like to thank our fellow
nominees, Ronee Hagen and Paul Unruh. Ronee is here today. Ronee,
please rise so that you can be recognized. Paul would have liked to
have been here as well, but could not make it because he had a
board meeting in Melbourne, Australia. What I can tell you from
working with Ronee and Paul over the last three months is that they
are both first class human beings in every respect. Every board
would greatly benefit by their brilliant intellects, unimpeachable
character, and superb judgment.
Unfortunately, today, it is the rare director candidate who is
willing to sign up for a so-called hostile proxy contest. The fact
that Ronee and Paul are in the minority on this point is
unfortunate. What could be more consistent with our fundamentally
democratic American ethos than challenging the status quo and
running for office with a campaign based on principles you believe
in, particularly when you are the underdog? All shareholders owe
Ronee and Paul a great deal of gratitude for their work here, and
we are extremely appreciative of the talent, time, and energy they
committed to ADP.
The internal team at Pershing Square did an outstanding job on
this contest. This began with an extraordinary research effort led
by Brian Welch, Charles Korn, and Jenna Dabbs who many shareholders
have gotten to know over the last few weeks. Fran McGill, our
one-man internal PR organization, did a superb job getting the
story out. As a result of all of their work, ADP shareholders,
analysts, board, management, and employees know a lot more about
the company. This detailed research and analysis will benefit the
company, shareholders and employees for years to come.
The rest of the Pershing Square team including my partners, Nick
Botta, Steve Fraidin, Ben Hakim, Halit Coussin, Ramy Saad, and
other members of our legal, trading, and investment teams, as well
as our investor relations team led by Tony Asnes, accounting and
finance led by Mike Gonnella, technology led by Zach Frayne, and
our administrative support team – Leah Cohen, Liz Anderson, Joelle
Dellis, and others – all did a remarkable job.
We also greatly benefited by the wise counsel of exceptional
advisors including Richard Brand and the rest of the legal team at
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft; Jon Silvan and company at Global
Strategy Group, who managed our print and social media; Steve
Murray and the rest of the Rubenstein team, our public relations
firm; Townsend Belisle and his team at Haystack Needle which
created our video production, website and webinars; and Ed McCarthy
and his team at D.F. King, our proxy advisors. They did a truly
remarkable job, and kept our costs down, which we and our investors
greatly appreciate.
I would also like to thank our investors who have been
incredibly supportive in this contest, and over the course of my
career. Without your long-term support and commitment, there would
be no Pershing Square.
Lastly and importantly, there are thousands of families, pension
funds, retirees, hundreds of thousands of clients, and numerous
others who are very dependent on ADP’s success. On their behalf, we
wish Carlos, the entire ADP board, and the company’s tens of
thousands of associates great success in the future.
Yes, we will be watching from the sidelines. We will be cheering
loudly for you to succeed, and occasionally commenting on a play or
two. We are rooting for ADP to win as all of us depend on your
success.”
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
Kind regards,
Pershing Square Investor Relations
ir@persq.com
About Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd.
Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN: PSH) (NA: PSH) is an
investment holding company structured as a closed-ended fund that
makes concentrated investments principally in North American
companies.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171107006209/en/
MEDIAMaitlandJames Devas, +44 20 7379
5151Media-pershingsquareholdings@maitland.co.uk
Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Jun 2024 até Jul 2024
Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Jul 2023 até Jul 2024