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Hershey Media Report 7/11/16
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Board member of trust that controls takeover target Hershey resigns
Jul 11, 2016 | Reuters
By Lauren Hirsch
A board member of the charitable trust that controls Hershey Co has resigned, the fourth such departure in less than 12 months, the trust said on Monday, at a time when the chocolate company is a takeover target for Mondelez International Inc. -
Hershey Trust Board Member Resigns From the $12 Billion Charity
Jul 11, 2016 | Bloomberg
By Craig Giammona
Joan Steel has resigned from the board of the Hershey Trust Co., the $12 billion charity that controls about 80 percent of the voting shares in the Hershey chocolate company, bringing fresh upheaval to an organization mired in controversy -
Board Resignation at Hershey Trust Adds Uncertainty in Face of Mondelez Pursuit
Jul 11, 2016 | Wall Street Journal
By Heather Haddon
A board member of the trust controlling Hershey Co. has resigned, another sign of uncertainty at the famous chocolate maker as it faces pursuit from a larger rival. -
Hershey Trust Board Member Joan Steel Resigns
Jul 11, 2016 | Associated Press
The board of the Hershey Trust Co. says that Joan Steel is resigning from the group that controls a majority of the voting shares of confectionary maker Hershey Co. -
Board member at troubled Hershey Trust resigns
Jul 11, 2016 | Philadelphia Inquirer
By Bob Fernandez
In a sign of deepening turmoil, Hershey Trust board member Joan E. Steel resigned her position at the troubled $12.3-billion charity for impoverished children as the giant charity faces its latest investigation by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. -
Hershey shares soaring once again amid report trust member resigned
Jul 11, 2016 | Fox News
By Paul Smith
Rueters is reporting a member of the Hershey Trust resigned, and shares of the company’s stock are once again seeing a sharp increase. Joan Steel reportedly resigned her position over the weekend, the fourth trust member in a year to resign. Executive Vice President John Estey was dismissed earlier this year after pleading guilty to wire fraud. -
Hershey Trust board member resigns
Jul 11, 2016 | Central Penn Business Journal
By Roger DuPuis
Just over a week after The Hershey Co. dismissed a takeover bid from snack giant Mondelez International, a member of the chocolate company's controlling trust has stepped down. -
Hershey Trust Board member resigns
Jul 11, 2016 | Pennsylvania Live
By Nick Malawskey
Joan Steel, a three-year member of the Hershey Trust Co. board of directors resigned over the weekend. According to Kent Jarrell, trust company spokesman, Steel submitted a letter of resignation to the board over the weekend. She did not give a reason, he said. -
Critics Question Whether AG Office Demands Will Reform Hershey Trust
Jul 11, 2016 | The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Critics are wondering whether voluntary demands made by Pennsylvania’s Attorney General’s office will lead to reforms at the embattled Hershey Trust, or if they will be as ineffective as previous attempts to rein in questionable spending at the $12 billion charity, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. -
The Street: Hershey (HSY) Stock Rises as Trustee Resigns
Jul 11, 2016 | The Street
By Krishna Thakker
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Hershey (HSY) shares are up by 0.04% to $110.74 on Monday afternoon, as one of the trustees on the board of the Hershey's Trust Company resigned over the weekend, CNBC's Dominic Chu reported on "Fast Money Halftime Report" today, citing a Reuters report.
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Board member of trust that controls takeover target Hershey resigns
Jul 11, 2016 | Reuters
By Lauren Hirsch
A board member of the charitable trust that controls Hershey Co has resigned, the fourth such departure in less than 12 months, the trust said on Monday, at a time when the chocolate company is a takeover target for Mondelez International Inc.
While no explanation for the move was provided, the resignation came as the trust is locked in a bitter dispute with its direct overseer, the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office, over its governance.
The $12 billion trust, set up by Hershey founder Milton Hershey over a century ago to fund and run a school for underprivileged children, must approve any sale of the company. Its affairs have been in the spotlight since Hershey rejected Mondelez's $23 billion offer two weeks ago.
Joan Steel, a Hershey trustee, resigned over the weekend, trust spokesman Kent Jarrell said. He did not provide a reason for her resignation, but said the trust's board would continue to function with its nine remaining members until her replacement is named.
Steel could not be immediately reached for comment.
Hershey shares rose 2 percent after Reuters first reported the news and were trading up 0.6 percent at $110.00 at mid-afternoon in New York.
Steel's departure follows the resignations of Hershey trustees Richard Zilmer, John Fry and Stephanie Bell-Rose over the past year.
Bell-Rose resigned this spring, three months after her appointment, because the position required more time than she had expected and interfered with her responsibilities as senior managing director at TIAA-CREF Financial Services, Jarrell said.
Fry, the president of Drexel University, informed the board earlier this year he was saddened to leave, but that his additional responsibilities at Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce mean he would be unable to fulfill his many responsibilities, Jarrell said.
Zilmer gave no reason for his resignation, Jarrell added.
The attorney general's office is investigating the trust for excessive spending and allowing board members to overstay their terms. The office has been asking three of the Hershey trustees, Velma Redmond, Joseph Senser and Robert Cavanaugh, to step down because they have exceeded the customary board term limits of 10 years.
Chief Deputy Attorney General Mark Pacella is seeking a voluntary settlement with the trust by the end of July, the Philadelphia Enquirer reported on July 8, citing internal memos. The attorney general's office could petition the Dauphin County Orphans' Court to remove board trustees if no settlement is reached. (Reporting by Lauren Hirsch in New York; Editing by Richard Chang)
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Hershey Trust Board Member Resigns From the $12 Billion Charity
Jul 11, 2016 | Bloomberg
By Craig Giammona
--The move comes less than two weeks after failed Mondelez bid
--Trust controls about 80 percent of voting stock in Hershey Co.
Joan Steel has resigned from the board of the Hershey Trust Co., the $12 billion charity that controls about 80 percent of the voting shares in the Hershey chocolate company, bringing fresh upheaval to an organization mired in controversy.
Steel, a member of the board since 2012, quit over the weekend and gave no reason for leaving, according to Kent Jarrell, a spokesman for the Hershey Trust. The move comes less than two weeks after Hershey Co. rejected a takeover bid from Mondelez International Inc.
The trust, which has faced allegations of lavish spending by board members in recent years, controls the fate of the maker of Hershey Kisses and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups through its voting shares. Established in the early 1900s by Milton Hershey, the organization runs a school for low-income students and oversees the Hershey Entertainment & Resorts company.
Hershey announced on June 30 that it had rejected a $23 billion bid from snack giant Mondelez, the maker of Oreos. Hershey, struggling with an ill-fated expansion in China and sluggish U.S. sales, has long been seen as a takeover target -- with the trust serving as the main obstacle to a potential deal.
Steel’s resignation, which was reported earlier by Reuters, caused a spike in Hershey’s shares. The stock climbed as much as 1.7 percent to $112.63 in New York on Monday. It previously gained 24 percent through the end of last week, including a 17 percent surge on the day the Mondelez bid was reported.
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Board Resignation at Hershey Trust Adds Uncertainty in Face of Mondelez Pursuit
Jul 11, 2016 | Wall Street Journal
By Heather Haddon
A board member of the trust controlling Hershey Co. has resigned, another sign of uncertainty at the famous chocolate maker as it faces pursuit from a larger rival.
Joan E. Steel, a board member at the Hershey Trust Co. since 2012 who served on its audit committee, resigned over the weekend without giving reason, trust spokesman Kent Jarrell said Monday. The charitable trust that controls Hershey’s board is searching for a replacement, but its nine remaining members are enough to conduct board business, Mr. Jarrell said. “It’s a quorum,” he said.
Ms. Steel couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. The $12 billion trust paid her $92,667 for her work on the board, according to its most recent federal charitable filing. Ms. Steel founded Alpha Wealth Advisors, a LLC based in Chicago, according to Illinois Secretary of State records. She has also served on the board of trustees for Loyola University Chicago.
Three other board members—Stephanie Bell-Rose, John Fry and Richard Zilmer—resigned from the trust since late 2015, the Hershey Trust spokesman said.
Snack giant Mondelez International Inc., which makes Oreo cookies and Cadbury chocolate bars, recently sent a letter to Hersheyproposing a tie-up at $107 a share, half in cash and half in stock. Hershey’s board quickly and unanimously rejected the roughly $23 billion offer in early July. Any deal would require the approval of the Hershey Trust, which holds 8.4% of its common stock and 81% of its voting power and has opposed a sale in the past.
Milton Hershey established the trust in 1905 to oversee the affairs of a charitable school he established alongside his chocolate company, and the well-being of the larger Hershey, Pa., community. Pennsylvania’s attorney general has oversight of the trust under state law and has the power to countermand decisions regarding deals that affect the school.
The trust is under continuing investigation by the attorney general’s office into alleged overpayment of directors and conflicts of interest. A spokesman for the attorney general’s office said the probe was “to ensure that charitable assets are being used appropriately,” but declined to provide further details. The trust has said it is cooperating with the probe.
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Hershey Trust Board Member Joan Steel Resigns
Jul 11, 2016 | Associated Press
The board of the Hershey Trust Co. says that Joan Steel is resigning from the group that controls a majority of the voting shares of confectionary maker Hershey Co.
Kent Jarrell, a spokesman for the Hershey Trust Board, said Monday that Steel, a board member since 2012, resigned and did not give a reason. He said the board will seek a replacement but can perform its duties with nine members.
The maker of Reese's chocolates and Hershey's Kisses last month rejected an acquisition offer from Mondelez International that valued the company at $107 per share, about $22.3 billion. Hershey shares traded 72 cents lower at $109.98 on Monday.
The trust, which oversees the majority stake in The Hershey Co., was established to benefit the Milton Hershey School for disadvantaged children.
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Board member at troubled Hershey Trust resigns
Jul 11, 2016 | Philadelphia Inquirer
By Bob Fernandez
In a sign of deepening turmoil, Hershey Trust board member Joan E. Steel resigned her position at the troubled $12.3-billion charity for impoverished children as the giant charity faces its latest investigation by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General.
The attorney general's office has set a July 31 deadline for the trust to comply with its demands for reforms, which include the removal of three long-standing board members and other governance changes.
Steel, who lives in the Chicago area, was not one of the three board members the attorney general was seeking to remove.
Trust spokesman Kent Jarrell confirmed Steel's departure on Monday and said that "no reason was given" when Steel gave notice over the weekend.
Steel could not be reached for comment. For the most recent fiscal year, She was compensated $106,500, according to the trust's latest tax return.
With Steel's resignation, the trust board now consists of nine members.
Jarrell said that the boards - one to administer the $12.3 billion in charitable funds and the other to oversee the 2,000-student Milton Hershey School - can continue to function as they look for Steel's replacement.
In addition to Steel, three board members have resigned since late 2015, one of whom was Drexel University President John Fry.
Jeffrey Johnson, spokesman for the attorney general's office, said on Monday in response to Steel's departure that "this is an ongoing investigation, meaning we cannot comment at this time."
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Hershey shares soaring once again amid report trust member resigned
Jul 11, 2016 | Fox News
By Paul Smith
Rueters is reporting a member of the Hershey Trust resigned, and shares of the company’s stock are once again seeing a sharp increase. Joan Steel reportedly resigned her position over the weekend, the fourth trust member in a year to resign. Executive Vice President John Estey was dismissed earlier this year after pleading guilty to wire fraud.
Just two weeks ago, news of a takeover bid by Modelez international, Inc. sent shares of Hershey Co soaring.
The Hershey Trust has been the subject of scrutiny for years. Earlier this year, a letter from the Attorney General’s Office cited violations of an agreement reached in 2013, specifically, that board members compensation was too high, violations of the conflict of interest policy, and a failure to elect new board members with specific professional expertise in issues pertaining to early childhood education and working with at-risk children.
Mondelez had reportedly offered $23 billion cash and stock offer. The Hershey Trust holds Hershey Trust, which holds about 8 percent of the company’s shares and 81 percent of its voting power.
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Hershey Trust board member resigns
Jul 11, 2016 | Central Penn Business Journal
By Roger DuPuis
Just over a week after The Hershey Co. dismissed a takeover bid from snack giant Mondelez International, a member of the chocolate company's controlling trust has stepped down.
Hershey Trust Co. trustee Joan Steel resigned over the weekend, trust spokesman Kent Jarrell said this afternoon.
Steel, who had served on the board since 2012, did not provide a reason for her departure, Jarrell told CPBJ.
On June 30, The Hershey Co. rejected a $23 billion purchase proposal from Illinois-based Mondelez, a Kraft Foods spinoff whose brands include Oreo Cookies.
The Hershey board was unanimous in its rejection of the $23 billion deal, and "determined that (the proposal) provided no basis for further discussion between Mondelez and the company." That was all Hershey had to say publicly.
Mondelez has repeatedly declined to comment, beyond confirming the existence of a proposal, while the Hershey Trust also offered no formal statement.
The trust is Hershey's main stockholder, controlling more than 80 percent of the company's shares. Under Pennsylvania law, the state Attorney General would have a say in any change of ownership.
Jarrell said the trust still has nine members who will continue to oversee its operations until Steel is replaced.
Steel, the founder and managing principal of Alpha Wealth Advisors LLC, joined the trust board in December 2012, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Reuters reported that she is the fourth trust member to resign since last year amid disputes with the AG's office over the body's governance.
Bloomberg news pointed out that news of Steel's departure was followed by a spike in Hershey’s shares. Their value rose as much as 1.7 percent to $112.63 in early afternoon trading.
The Dauphin County chocolate company's stock stood at $109.94 shortly before 3:30 today.
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Hershey Trust Board member resigns
Jul 11, 2016 | Pennsylvania Live
By Nick Malawskey
Joan Steel, a three-year member of the Hershey Trust Co. board of directors resigned over the weekend.
According to Kent Jarrell, trust company spokesman, Steel submitted a letter of resignation to the board over the weekend. She did not give a reason, he said.
Steel has a background in finance and is the founder and principal of Alpha Wealth Advisors in Chicago. Messages left with the firm were not immediately returned on Monday.
Steel's departure comes ahead of a looming July 31 deadline from the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office, which calls for the resignation of three other long-serving board members. Three other board members have also resigned within the last year.
The trust company is responsible for managing the Milton Hershey School's $12 billion-plus endowment, which includes an ownership stake in The Hershey Co., and outright ownership of Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, which owns and operates Hersheypark and other Hershey attractions in Derry Twp.
Steel is the latest departure from the trust company amid reports of infighting and rancor among trustees. In June, one of the trust's lawyers was placed on indefinite leave, and another Hershey Trust Co. officer was fired and later pled guilty to un-related federal charges.
Two weeks ago an outside snack company, Mondelez, also made a bid to takeover ownership of The Hershey Co., although that bid was unanimously rejected by the chocolate company's board of directors. Wall Street analysts have said they expect Mondelez -- or another company -- to make a renewed effort to try and purchase the Derry Twp.-based chocolate maker, although any bid to to do so would be difficult at best, due to the trust's ownership stake in the company.
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Critics Question Whether AG Office Demands Will Reform Hershey Trust
Jul 11, 2016 | The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Critics are wondering whether voluntary demands made by Pennsylvania’s Attorney General’s office will lead to reforms at the embattled Hershey Trust, or if they will be as ineffective as previous attempts to rein in questionable spending at the $12 billion charity, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The attorney general’s office reached a settlement with the charity in 2003 to limit self-dealing and made another agreement in 2013 to limit board pay. But, in both instances, questionable spending continued, critics say.
“Fifteen years later, where are we at? We’re right back where we started,” said Joseph Berning, a Milton Hershey School alumnus who has advocated for reforms at the charity.
In February, Mark Pacella, the official who oversees nonprofits for the attorney general’s office, demanded in a letter to the trust, which funds and operates the Milton Hershey School for at-risk children, that it remove three board members, including its chairwoman, Velma Redmond. Mr. Pacella also asked for the board to personally repay hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees for internal investigations that it has ordered and to reduce board pay. The letter said there had been “apparent violations” of the 2013 agreement. Mr. Pacella threatened to pursue litigation by July 31 if the trust did not meet some of his demands.
Pennsylvania’s Solicitor General Bruce Castor, who has final say in the state’s legal matters, has said that he considers litigation to be an option, according to the Inquirer, which cited unnamed sources. Legal action could open the trust’s spending and behavior to the public and might lead to court-imposed penalties and changes, the Inquirer noted.
The charity recently came under fire when it was revealed that it paid directors $6.9 million collectively over the past three years and had paid for costly travel, meals, and hotels.
A spokesman for the trust said it has a history of working with the agency and he expects it “to appropriately resolve outstanding concerns.”
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The Street: Hershey (HSY) Stock Rises as Trustee Resigns
Jul 11, 2016 | The Street
By Krishna Thakker
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Hershey (HSY) shares are up by 0.04% to $110.74 on Monday afternoon, as one of the trustees on the board of the Hershey's Trust Company resigned over the weekend, CNBC's Dominic Chu reported on "Fast Money Halftime Report" today, citing a Reuters report.
There are now nine remaining trustees of the Hershey trust, which controls about 80% of the Hershey voting shares, he said.
"In this particular instance here it may signal some sort of turmoil in the trust itself," Chu said.
Just 2 weeks ago the U.S. chocolate company was presented an acquisition offer of $23 billion in cash and stock, from Oreo maker Mondelez (MDLZ), which Hershey rejected.
Separately, TheStreet Ratings team gave Hershey a "buy" rating with a ratings score of B. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, good cash flow from operations, expanding profit margins and notable return on equity. We feel its strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income.
TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author. TheStreet Ratings has this to say about the recommendation:
You can view the full analysis from the report here: HSY
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