Trian Fund Management Mails Letter To DuPont Stockholders

(RTTNews) - Trian Fund Management, L.P., one of the largest stockholders of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DD), which currently beneficially owns about 24.6 million DuPont shares valued at approximately $1.8 billion, said it is mailing a letter to DuPont stockholders urging them to hold the Board and management accountable for DuPont's consistent underperformance and to protect their investment by voting the GOLD proxy card for the election of Nelson Peltz, John Myers, Arthur Winkleblack and Robert Zatta to DuPont's Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders on May 13, 2015.

DuPont is attempting to distract and mislead stockholders from the real issues at the company - its consistently subpar performance and, in our view, management's lack of confidence in the company's future. CEO Ellen Kullman seems to believe DuPont's shares will be worth no more than $72 in 2017 as she exercised options and sold over half of her equity position - approximately $80 million worth of shares - all at prices of $72 or less after Trian first invested. Most of these options did not expire until 2016 or 2017.

Trian, on the other hand, has a substantial economic stake in DuPont's future, and believes that, with its nominees on the Board, DuPont's implied target value per share could be in excess of $120 by the end of 2017.

Trian stated that it is asking for stockholders' support to help it make needed improvements at DuPont for the benefit of all DuPont stockholders. If elected, as a minority of the DuPont Board, Trian's nominees pledge to work collaboratively with the Board and management and provide the oversight necessary to help DuPont achieve best-in-class operating performance, earnings growth, returns on invested capital, and corporate governance.