PepsiCo, Activist Investor Elliott Management Close To Reaching Settlement, WSJ Reports

PepsiCo

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(RTTNews) - Activist investor Elliott Investment Management is nearing a settlement deal with beverage and snacks major PepsiCo Inc. (PEP), the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The details of the settlement were not revealed, and an announcement is expected as soon.

The company has been facing intensifying pressure after Elliott in September disclosed a $4 billion stake in the company, calling for sweeping changes to revive growth.

In a letter to PepsiCo's board, Elliott had warned that the company has reached a critical inflection point and urged the firm to boost its share price, revive its soda business and become more competitive.

In response, PepsiCo said it maintains an active and productive dialogue with shareholders, and would review Elliott's recommendations within the framework of its current strategy, which includes cost cuts, plant closures, and efforts to improve marketing efficiency.

In October, PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta reportedly said the company's interactions with Elliott had been collaborative.

While announcing the third-quarter results in October, Laguarta said, "As we look ahead to the balance of this year and beyond, our top priorities are to accelerate growth and aggressively optimize our cost structure. To accomplish this, we are introducing a strong pipeline of innovation to accelerate portfolio transformation, continuously sharpening our price pack architecture to provide good value to consumers, and right sizing our entire cost base to help fund our activities."

In the overnight trading, PepsiCo shares were losing around 1 percent to $145.52, after closing Thursday's regular trading 0.8 percent lower.