Since June, Trian Fund Management has been aggressively acquiring shares in Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (NYSE: FDO). At the end of last month, Nelson Peltz’s Trian revealed that the firm had met with FDO’s senior management team to discuss its desire to enhance shareholder value by improving operational performance.
The hedge fund’s proposed strategies included increasing sales per square foot, improving operating leverage and optimizing the number of new store openings. Trian Group also suggested using FDO’s capital structure and free-cash flow to use leverage to augment the stock repurchase program. According to Hedge Fund Solutions’ July 30 Catalyst Equity Research Report, Trian currently owns 8,722,365 FDO shares, or 6.58% of shares outstanding. |
