Sotheby’s Rejects Dan Loeb’s Board Nominees

On Thursday, Sotheby’s issued an open letter to shareholders in which it rejected nominations by Third Point LLC (investor Daniel S. Loeb’s hedge fund) for new board members. Instead, it selected two other nominees: Jessica Bibliowicz, the former chairman and chief executive officer of National Finance Partners Corp., and Kevin C. Conroy, the president of digital enterprise and development for Univision Communications Inc.

After stating that the nominating and corporate governance committee had “carefully considered” Third Point’s nominations of Daniel S. Loeb, Olivier Reza, and Harry J. Wilson, the letter stated that these nominees “add no experience or expertise that is not already represented or that is relevant to the Company’s business, strategies or goals.” The Board voted unanimously to reject Third Point’s nominees.

The slight by Sotheby’s is only the latest move in a battle that began last year between Sotheby’s board and Loeb who began making calls for changes related to the leadership of the company last year after the activist investor’s hedge fund emerged as one of the largest shareholders in the publicly traded auction house.

Rozalia Jovanovic