RALEIGH, N.C. --Enough talk. It's time to vote.
After weeks of jousting via the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), management at The Pantry Inc. and an emboldened dissident faction will lay down their weapons.
Today, stockholders at the country's fifth-largest convenience store chain will cast their votes. They will either endorse the current leadership team and its strategy of balanced growth or deliver a message of change, one based on frustration over prolonged stock underperformance.
Such an event is rare in the convenience channel. Few c-store chains are publicly held and, truth be told, The Pantry probably wishes it were in private hands as it faces onerous debt and the demands of quarterly earnings reports that undercut its ability to embrace a long-term strategy that might hurt short-term performance but possibly yield a healthier company.
I'll be attending the shareholders meeting and tweeting as events unfold. You can follow me at http://twitter.com/cspscoop. And watch for CSP Daily News/CSPnet.com to break news from the meeting as warranted. I welcome your feedback either on my Twitter account or to my email, mmorrison@cspnet.com.
Here are the proposed slates for the nine-person board from management and the dissenting faction known as Concerned Pantry Shareholders.
Management’s nine-person slate: [veternan directors Bryan Monkhouse and Paul Brunswick are not seeking another term, replaced by 2014 nominee Thomas Dickson and 2013-appointed director Kathleen Guion.]
- Robert F. Bernstock
- Thomas W. Dickson
- Wilfred A. Finnegan
- Kathleen Guion
- Dennis G. Hatchell (CEO)
- Edwin J. Holman
- Terry L. McElroy
- Mark D. Miles
- Thomas M. Murnane.
- Todd E. Diener
- James C.Papas
- Joshua E. Schechter
Which slate do you think will win? I welcome your feedback.
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