Activist Investor Engaged Takes Position in Supreme Brands Owner VF Corp

Activist investor Engaged Capital has taken a stake in VF Corp. and desires the the proprietor of the Vans and Supreme Manufacturers to make divestitures to pay down debt.

The Denver-based firm ought to rent advisers to assessment non-core divestitures and publicly decide to no additional acquisitions, Engaged stated in presentation Tuesday on the 13D Monitor Lively-Passive Investor Summit in New York, confirming an earlier Bloomberg Information report.

It added that extra money stream and divestiture proceeds must be used to retire debt, which amounted to about $7.9 billion as of July 1, in response to information compiled by Bloomberg. VF must also usher in new board members, Engaged stated.

VF rose 13% to $18.32 at 12:23 p.m. in New York buying and selling Tuesday, giving it a market worth of $7.1 billion.

“We worth the views of our shareholders and search to take care of an open dialogue with the funding group,” a consultant for VF stated in an announcement. “VF has globally acknowledged and iconic manufacturers and best-in-class expertise. VF’s board and management workforce, together with our just lately appointed CEO Bracken Darrell, are taking fast and decisive actions to strengthen the corporate’s place and return VF to robust, sustainable, and worthwhile progress within the pursuits of all our shareholders.”

VF and different attire makers have been fighting provide chain challenges and model relevancy in recent times. The corporate, which additionally controls the North Face and Dickies manufacturers, employed a brand new chief govt officer in June amid delicate gross sales progress.

Final 12 months, the corporate stated that wholesale companions had been canceling orders extra typically because of an “more and more cautious” strategy to client demand. It additionally minimize its dividend in February to cut back debt.

By Crystal Tse

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