Starboard seeks to take control of Corteva board, oust CEO: WSJ

[January 21, 2021]  (Reuters) - Starboard LP is planning to take control of agricultural company Corteva Inc's board and replace its Chief Executive Officer Jim Collins, the Wall Street Journal reported late on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. https://on.wsj.com/35ZmERY

Jim Collins, CEO of Corteva Agriscience, speaks during an interview on CNBC on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

The activist investor has privately nominated eight directors to Corteva's 12-person board, the Journal reported, adding that Starboard is aiming to oust Collins over 'mediocre performance'.

Starboard and Corteva did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment outside regular business hours.

The activist investor, which held a roughly 1.6% stake as on October 2020 in Corteva, has been in on-and-off talks with the company since the fall and nominated board members before the deadline to do so in late December, the newspaper reported citing the sources.

Corteva is valued at $32.53 billion, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

In November, Reuters reported that Corteva's board had backed Collins after Starboard raised issues over the company's management.

(Reporting by Anirudh Saligrama in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

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