Rentokil Initial PLC (LSE:RTO) shares jumped 4% after it added a representative from activist investor Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management to the board after its major profit warning earlier this month.
Peltz's firm revealed it had taken a stake in the Anglo-US pest control group this June, when the shares were trading at around 415p, down around a third from the all-time highs seen around a year before that. Trian has revealed its stake is 2.26% of the total share capital.
But two weeks ago, the FTSE 100 company announced another in a series of profit warnings related to the US-based Terminix business it acquired in late 2022, shocking the City and leading them to warn that the board should be nervous.
Today, Rentokil said Trian's Brian Baldwin will join its board as a non-executive director from the start of October, becoming a member of the nomination committee and remuneration committee, meaning he could decide on a new CEO and set their wages.
A former Merrill Lynch private equity analyst, Baldwin has been on Trian's investment team since 2007 and is currently head of research, having been on the board of many of the New York firm's investments, including Janus Henderson and nVent Electric.
Rentokil chairman Richard Solomons said, "we look forward to working with him to deliver long-term sustainable value for our shareholders and, in particular, executing our plans to integrate the Terminix business and to increase organic growth in our North America operations".
Baldwin said: "Trian believes Rentokil has significant potential and runway for growth that can be achieved by leveraging its strong brands and market leading positions, particularly in the US."
** Update: Adds share price **