Hershey Trust Forces Overhaul of Hershey Board

The trust that has a controlling stake in chocolate maker Hershey on Sunday forced a sweeping overhaul of the company's board amid dissatisfaction with the company's recent results.

The Hershey Trust, which controls about 78 percent of Hershey's

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[HSY  Loading...      ()   ] voting shares, asked six of the company's 11 directors to resign. Two others also chose to resign, the company said.

The maker of Hershey Kisses and Reese's Pieces has struggled in the past two years with rising costs and tough competition from M&Ms maker Masterfoods USA, a unit of private Mars. Last month, Hershey posted a 66 percent drop in quarterly profit.

The trust "has made clear it has not been satisfied with recent results," trust chairman LeRoy Zimmerman said in a statement.

The move comes weeks after Chief Executive Richard Lenny decided to leave the company, with the Wall Street Journal reporting he had differences with the trust and could not run the business with the autonomy he wanted.

The Journal later reported that members of the trust met with Cadbury Schweppes, without Lenny, to discuss a possible merger. The trust has declined comment on the report. Cadbury is splitting up its candy and drinks businesses.

New Hershey board members put in place on Sunday include Stone Point Capital CEO Charles Davis, a veteran of Goldman Sachs where he was head of Investment Banking Services, and
Edward Kelly, managing director of private equity firm The Carlyle Group.

The company said Kenneth Wolfe would serve as non-executive chairman, effective Jan. 1. Wolfe served for eight years as chairman and CEO of Hershey, retiring at end-2001.

Chief Financial Officer David West, who was named to replace Lenny as chief executive, will assume that role Dec. 1.

Change Was Coming

The trust first voiced its displeasure with Hershey's results in a statement issued Oct. 10. At that time, the trust was already in the process of seeking new members to serve on Hershey's board, a spokesman for the trust said on Sunday.

"This has been unfolding for some time," Tim Reeves said.

The Trust, established by Hershey founder Milton Hershey to serve as trustee for the boarding school that bears his name, also holds about 30 percent of the economic interest.

The trust has said it is required by Pennsylvania law to maintain voting control over Hershey. The trust also says it wants Hershey to pursue opportunities in the United States.

But analysts have questioned whether Hershey can strike the type of deal it needs to significantly grow internationally -- such as a merger with Cadbury -- in such a way that the trust would retain control.

Among the board members who resigned was Robert Campbell, who had been designated to become non-executive chairman on Jan. 1.