By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
(Reuters) -Jana Partners has built a new position in Lamb Weston and may push the french fry maker to consider selling itself, the activist investment firm said in a regulatory filing on Friday.
Jana said it owns 5% of the Eagle, Idaho-based company and wants to see a strategic review where the company and bankers would review capital spending, operating deficiencies and consider repurchasing stock.
The hedge fund also signaled that it might seek board seats at the company which currently has a market capitalization of $11 billion.
News of Jana’s stake, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, pushed Lamb Weston’s stock price up 6.44% in early Friday trading. Since January, the stock has tumbled 28%.
Jana is working with Continental Grain, a privately held company that owns and operates companies in the food and agribusiness, on the investment, the filing said. It is also working with Lamb Weston’s former executive chairman, Timothy McLevish.
Lamb Weston did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Earlier this month, Lamb Weston cut its annual profit forecast and announced job cuts amid softer spending across restaurants and heightened competition in international markets.
In the filing, Jana blames Lamb Weston for its troubles, writing of a “litany of self-inflicted missteps” that led to the underperformance.
As the biggest producer of french fries in North America, Lamb Weston sells its products, including tater puffs and hash brown patties, to customers including hamburger chain McDonalds.
A year ago Jana Partners called on Frontier Communications (OTC:) to sell itself and Verizon Communications (NYSE:) made a bid last month. At that time, the hedge fund was also working with a large strategic investor that it did not identify.
Jana previously pushed for a sale of New Relic (NYSE:) which was taken private by TPG and Francisco Partners last year. It also pushed for a sale of Zendesk (NYSE:) which was taken private in 2022 by investment firms led by Hellman & Friedman and Permira.
