Gannett Co., Inc. (GCI): Carl Icahn Pushes for Two Board Seats Ahead of Planned Split of Company

Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI) responded to the letter in a press release this morning, with non-executive chairman of the Gannett board, Marge Magner, expressing surprise at Icahn’s “aggressive actions”, and his attempts to exert control over the corporate governance of a company whose governance has yet to be set. She called Icahn’s actions an “overreaching campaign to advance his own agenda”, and declared that the board would not be deterred in their efforts to serve the interests of all of Gannett’s shareholders.

Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI)’s president and CEO Gracia Martore also said that Gannett is a “shareholder-focused company that has consistently delivered strong returns for our owners”, and their board has been instrumental in their current transformation, including initiating the split Icahn himself advocated.

Other funds with large stakes in Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI) include John W. Rogers’ Ariel Investments with 6.07 million shares as of September 30, Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital with 5.06 million shares, and Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies with 1.08 million shares.

Disclosure: None