Ackman: I Am Not GekkoIcahn
We aren't totally sure that "soft sell" is how we would put it, but maybe softer sell. And this is definitely just because we can't help but root for Ackman (90% losses are nothing compared to boyish charm, you know) and Target is such a tantalizing... er... target. Plus, anyone who doubles down with such ease cannot help but attract our (sideways, nervous) glance. So, if the Post wants to give us WA the soft-seller underdog, we're game.
Portraying himself as "the underdog" in the fight, Ackman referred to Target's board as a stagnating "friend of Bob," with change-resistant members handpicked long ago by retired chairman Bob Ulrich.
As he introduced his own slate to Target investors at a Midtown auditorium yesterday, Ackman took pains to insist that his own nominees -- with backgrounds in groceries, credit cards and corporate governance, in addition to real estate -- weren't merely stooges assembled to further his own agenda.
"I just want independent, fresh perspective on the board," Ackman said.
(Michael Douglas actually thought Gekko was evil, and Carl may be the elder statesman of activists, but you are the young upstart for us every time! Call us WA! We still love you!)
Ackman's Soft Sell [The New York Post]
