Callouts & quotes from 9+ activist slides

""We find it odd management believes value can be created by separating the business into two mature companies." — KeyBanc, December 20, 2013; "...But we continue to believe [management's] plan doesn't address RL problems for investors... We believe the most favorable outcome for investors under the current plan is a sale of RL, but short of that we see risk to the downside if investors inherit RL shares." — UBS, March 3, 2014; "We believe Red Lobster has a valuable asset base that makes Darden's overall real estate portfolio materially more attractive than it would be without it. We fear management's current plan to spinoff Red Lobster is reactionary and lacking integrity." — Hedgeye, March 12, 2014; "Moving forward with Red Lobster sale or spin. Unless the separation helps drive a significant improvement in operating results, we don't envision this being very accretive to valuation." — Oppenheimer, March 3, 2014; "It remains unclear to us why the combined valuation of the separate companies would exceed current DRI valuation." — Bank of America, March 3, 2014; "Despite Opposition, Management is Moving Forward in Divesting Red Lobster: Overall, we believe the Street is disappointed by the divestiture of Red Lobster on its own." — Sterne Agee, March 21, 2014"

"“We find it odd management believes value can be created by separating the business into two mature companies.” — KeyBanc, December 20, 2013; “...But we continue to believe [management’s] plan doesn’t address RL problems for investors... We believe the most favorable outcome for investors under the current plan is a sale of RL, but short of that we see risk to the downside if investors inherit RL shares.” — UBS, March 3, 2014; “We believe Red Lobster has a valuable asset base that makes Darden’s overall real estate portfolio materially more attractive than it would be without it. We fear management’s current plan to spinoff Red Lobster is reactionary and lacking integrity.” — Hedgeye, March 12, 2014; “Moving forward with Red Lobster sale or spin. Unless the separation helps drive a significant improvement in operating results, we don’t envision this being very accretive to valuation.” — Oppenheimer, March 3, 2014; “It remains unclear to us why the combined valuation of the separate companies would exceed current DRI valuation.” — Bank of America, March 3, 2014; “Despite Opposition, Management is Moving Forward in Divesting Red Lobster: Overall, we believe the Street is disappointed by the divestiture of Red Lobster on its own.” — Sterne Agee, March 21, 2014"

""Darden also issued its most detailed defense of its planned spin-off (or sale) of Red Lobster. However, it remains unclear to us why the combined valuation of the separate companies would exceed current DRI valuation." — BofA Merrill Lynch, March 3, 2014; "...But we continue to believe [management's] plan doesn't address RL problems for investors... It is still unclear how a spin actually improves core guest targeting capabilities/chances for a sales recovery or why multiple expansion would occur." — UBS, March 3, 2014; "We fear management's current plan to spinoff Red Lobster is reactionary and lacking integrity. They haven't given a plan to stabilize and turnaround Red Lobster, but merely an excuse to cast off the struggling chain." — Hedgeye, March 12, 2014; "Despite Opposition, Management is Moving Forward in Divesting Red Lobster: Overall, we believe the Street is disappointed by the divestiture of Red Lobster on its own." — Sterne Agee, March 21, 2014"

"“In 2002, The New York Times published an article about Matthew DiFrisco, an analyst who downgraded Darden's stock to ‘neutral’ from ‘outperform.’ Following the downgrade, Darden's investor relations officer Matthew Stroud canceled a marketing trip with DiFrisco's clients, telling him that he needed to have an ‘outperform’ rating to enjoy such a privilege.” — The New York Times. “Some investors are protesting that Darden's idea of ‘direct engagement’ amounts to returning the phone calls of analysts and investors who agree with its strategy while ignoring calls from dissenters. ‘They've got a history of only engaging with investors and analysts who are supportive of their views,’ said one Darden shareholder, who declined to give his name for fear of retribution from the company. ‘If the board is so convinced [a Red Lobster spinoff] is such a great idea, then put it to a vote.’” — New York Post"

""In 2002, The New York Times published an article about Matthew DiFrisco, an analyst who downgraded Darden's stock to 'neutral' from 'outperform.' Following the downgrade, Darden's investor relations officer Matthew Stroud canceled a marketing trip with DiFrisco's clients, telling him that he needed to have an 'outperform' rating to enjoy such a privilege." — The New York Times. "Some investors are protesting that Darden's idea of 'direct engagement' amounts to returning the phone calls of analysts and investors who agree with its strategy while ignoring calls from dissenters. 'They've got a history of only engaging with investors and analysts who are supportive of their views,' said one Darden shareholder, who declined to give his name for fear of retribution from the company. 'If the board is so convinced [a Red Lobster spinoff] is such a great idea, then put it to a vote.'" — New York Post"

"“Some investors are protesting that Darden’s idea of ‘direct engagement’ amounts to returning the phone calls of analysts and investors who agree with its strategy while ignoring calls from dissenters. ‘They’ve got a history of only engaging with investors and analysts who are supportive of their views,’ said one Darden shareholder, who declined to give his name for fear of retribution from the company. ‘If the board is so convinced [a Red Lobster spinoff] is such a great idea, then put it to a vote.’” — New York Post"

"BP Moves Chief Executive to Lesser Role in Spill Response — The New York Times; Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun to step down in wake of safety issues — Axios; Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf Resigns Amid Scandal — NPR; 3M Names New CEO Amid PFAS Battles, Health Spinoff — The Wall Street Journal; CEO of Canada's Suncor Energy steps down after latest site fatality — Reuters"

"“If the board is so convinced [a Red Lobster spinoff] is such a great idea, then put it to a vote.” — New York Post"

"“Japan eyes tax break for spinoffs.” — Nikkei Asian Review, Nikkei. 19, November 2016."