NEW YORK, May 4 – Corporate payment services firm WEX announced Monday it has struck an agreement with activist investor Impactive Capital that resolves a contentious boardroom dispute just hours before shareholders were set to vote.
The agreement was finalized late Monday night, preventing what industry observers called one of this season’s most acrimonious corporate battles from going to a shareholder vote that was scheduled for Tuesday. Several experts in the field had predicted Impactive was likely to prevail in the contest.
Under the terms of the settlement, all three board candidates proposed by Impactive will receive seats on WEX’s board of directors, including hedge fund co-founder Lauren Taylor Wolfe. Additionally, WEX has agreed to separate the positions of board chairman and chief executive officer.
The arrangement permits current CEO Melissa Smith to retain her board position, while director Stephen Smith, who has no family relation to the CEO, will also remain. Director Nancy Altobello will step down from her position as part of the restructuring.
WEX has delayed its annual shareholder meeting by one week due to the settlement.
