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Campaigns / Starboard Value → Darden Restaurants, Inc.
Starboard Value vs. Darden Restaurants, Inc.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. · DRI

7 decks published between 2014-03-31 and 2014-09-11 — 848 pages, 740 analysed slides total. Outcome: lost.

initial thesis proxy fight response

Timeline

Each deck in chronological order — click to open. This is the story of the campaign as it unfolded.

  1. 2014-03-31 proxy fight

    2014 03 ex991dfan14a06297125_033114

    108pp · full_deck

    Darden's rushed Red Lobster spin is the wrong deal at the wrong time — it traps ~$850M of real estate value and blocks a $1-2B REIT unlock; shareholders must call a Special Meeting to stop it.

    N 5 V 3 C 3
    ⌂ ◫ ” ⚑
  2. 2014-03-31 initial thesis

    2014 03 Starboard Darden Restaurants Presentation Mar 2014

    108pp · full_deck

    Darden's rushed Red Lobster spin-off traps ~$850m of real estate value at a trough multiple; shareholders must force a Special Meeting to halt this irreversible mistake.

    N 4 V 3 C 3
    ⌂ ◫ ⇌ ⚑
  3. 2014-05-22 proxy fight

    2014 05 ex991to13da906297125_052114

    20pp · letter

    Darden's Board destroyed value by selling Red Lobster for ~1x EBITDA against shareholder will; replacing 12 directors unlocks a real estate spin, cost-cut turnaround, and peer-catchup upside.

    N 4 V 2 C 2
    ⌂ ◫ ” ⚑
  4. 2014-09-01 response

    2014 09 Darden Response to Starboard Sep 2014

    18pp · response_filing

    Darden's Board rebuts Starboard's REIT, Specialty Restaurants spin, and refranchising proposals as financial engineering built on inflated multiples and ignored friction costs that would jeopardize the dividend and credit profile.

    N 3 V 3 C 2
    ⌂ ◫ ⇌ ⚑
  5. 2014-09-09 proxy fight

    2014 09 ex991dfan14a06297125_090914

    6pp · short_deck

    Darden, the largest full-service restaurant company, trails peers on margins and total return; an operational fix, REIT spin, and SRG separation can unlock substantial value.

    N 3 V 3 C 3
    ⌂
  6. 2014-09-11 proxy fight

    2014 09 20140911_Starboard presentation

    294pp · full_deck

    Darden's brands and real estate are worth $67-$86/share vs. $48 today — replace the entire board to execute the Brinker playbook: operational turnaround, real-estate separation, SRG spin-off.

    N 5 V 3 C 3
    ⌂ ◫ ” ⇌ ⚑
  7. 2014-09-11 proxy fight

    2014 09 Starboard Transforming Darden Presentation Sep 2014

    294pp · full_deck

    Darden trades at $48 because a corporate-heavy Board has buried a great restaurant company; the Brinker playbook — cost cuts, real estate separation, SRG spin, franchising — unlocks $67-$86 per share.