(Bloomberg) -- Automatic Data Processing Inc. rejected activist investor Bill Ackman’s nominees for the board of directors, saying his candidates are no improvement on the current board members.
ADP will instead nominate its 10 existing directors for re-election at the annual meeting, the Roseland, New Jersey-based company said in a statement Monday. In spurning Ackman’s candidates, the board voted unanimously to follow the recommendation of its nominating and corporate governance committee, according to the statement.
“We have determined that adding Mr. Ackman’s nominees would not be an improvement,” ADP Chairman John P. Jones said in the statement. “Unlike Mr. Ackman’s nominees, ADP’s directors have a deep understanding and appreciation of the current state of ADP’s business and its clients.”
Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management this month unveiled an 8 percent stake in ADP and began a campaign to shake up the outsourcing giant. The stock could more than double by 2021 if ADP can fix the “buy not build” strategy that has left it riddled with inefficiencies, Ackman has said. He proposed himself, Veronica Hagen and Paul Unruh for the board.
Ackman said in a 3 1/2-hour conference call Thursday that his push for change at the payroll and human-resources outsourcer has been met by hostility from management and skepticism from analysts. Ackman added that he believes ADP will probably need a new chief executive officer.
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