Activist investor Land & Buildings is calling for a special meeting of shareholders at Hudson’s Bay Company following the announced departure on Friday of chief executive officer Jerry Storch.“We are evaluating a number of proposals on which we believe the voices of shareholders should be heard – including the removal of directors from the Board – and will announce the full slate of proposals and next steps in the Special Meeting process shortly,” according to a statement by Jonathan Litt, founder and chief investment officer, Land & Buildings Investment Management, LLC.Late Friday afternoon, it was announced that Storch was stepping down as CEO at HBC to return to his advisory firm, Storch Advisors.Storch had been bullish on the future of department stores.HBC also announced Friday that Richard Baker, governor and executive chairman of HBC, would resume the duties of CEO – a position he previously held – on an interim basis.That wasn’t enough for Land & Buildings, which has been calling on HBC to find ways to surface the value of the real estate in its holdings.Hudson’s Bay real estate has been valued by the company at three times the current share price of $11.96, or $35 per share, according to Land & Buildings.“It is typical for undervalued and struggling companies such as Hudson’s Bay to try to position the exit of top executives as a reason for investors to give them more time to right the ship – while choosing to ignore the fact that the true decision makers and those at the Board level who have been complicit in the decision making remain in power. We believe this is what is happening at Hudson’s Bay. Jerry Storch is only the most recent casualty at the Company, joining several other senior executive departures including Paul Beesley, the Company’s former CFO, and Brian Pall, the Company’s former President, HBC Real Estate,” according to the sta ...
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