Procter & Gamble shares rise after activist Peltz says his reorganization plan under ‘very serious consideration’

Finance news

Shares of Procter & Gamble rose 2 percent Thursday after Trian Partners’ Nelson Peltz indicated his proposal for reorganizing the company was gaining traction.

“It’s really under very serious consideration,” Peltz said of Trian’s white paper, which describes how P&G could improve its business with measures such as reorganizing the company into three autonomous units, developing local brands and increasing external talent.

Peltz joined P&G’s board in March after a vigorous proxy fight last year that he initially lost by a narrow margin, before the consumer goods giant eventually agreed to appoint the activist to its board. He was speaking Thursday at The Deal conference in New York City, run by CNBC “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer.

Peltz said the board has been very welcoming since it’s clear shareholders don’t want business as usual. He added that his goal is to create an ownership mentality in P&G’s boardroom, and that the proposed structure calls for direct accountability, rather than the lack of responsibility prevalent in older, previously very successful companies.

Trian took a $3.5 billion stake in Procter & Gamble early last year.

As of late morning trading on Thursday, shares of P&G are down 17 percent for the year so far.

— With reporting by CNBC’s Dawn Giel and Leslie Picker.

Link to the source of information: www.cnbc.com