Jack in the Box is apparently willing to work with investors to add people to its board, just not a certain investor.
The fast-food chain this week added two members to its board of directors, including former Taco Bell CEO Mark King along with the investor Alan Smolinsky.
That was done as part of a cooperation agreement with one of its shareholders, Greenwood Investors, which has agreed to vote in favor of the Jack in the Box slate of directors in the company’s annual meeting.
That announcement came just after the activist investor Sardar Biglari, who controls just under 10% of Jack in the Box shares, nominated himself and an outside nominee, Douglas Thompson, to the company board. Biglari’s company, Biglari Holdings, owns the burger chain Steak n Shake.
That continues a relatively active period, both for Jack in the Box and the investor Biglari, who had been buying up shares in the burger chain in recent years.
That prompted Jack in the Box in July to swallow a poison pill, when it adopted a shareholder rights plan preventing Biglari from buying up more stock. And then Biglari—who had up until then listed his shares as a passive investment—turned activist on Jack in the Box.
This is not Biglari’s only activist campaign in a restaurant company. He is currently running his eighth proxy fight against Cracker Barrel. He has also made an offer to buy the chicken chain El Pollo Loco.
Jack in the Box, meanwhile, has not been inactive, either. The fast-food chain earlier this year sold Del Taco to Yadav Enterprises, the same company that is part of the group that is taking Denny’s private. The company also overhauled management this year and is intent on paying off debt and revitalizing its flagship brand.
The agreement with Greenwood could blunt any potential impact from Biglari while adding two new voices to the board.
King is a former CEO of Taco Bell who most recently served as chief executive of Xponential Fitness. He is also a former president of Adidas North America.
Smolinsky is principal of Conquest Housing, a private investment company. “We appreciate our constructive engagement with Jack in the Box and the company’s openness to bringing fresh perspectives to the board,” Chris Torino, partner with Greenwood, said in a statement.
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