Jana Partners Considers Nominating PetSmart Director Slate -- Update

By Josh Beckerman 

PetSmart Inc. shareholder Jana Partners LLC, the hedge fund that has been pushing for a sale of the pet-goods retailer, said it is considering nominating five people to the company's board.

If it opts to run a proxy contest, Jana said it has hired five candidates who have agreed to put their names forward.

The candidates are Edwin Crawford, the previous chairman of CVS Caremark Corp.; Julian Day, the former chairman and CEO of RadioShack Corp.; Thomas Dickson, who most recently led Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc.; Susan Feldman, the co-founder of an online home-goods shopping site; and Lawrence V. Jackson, a former executive at Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

PetSmart, meanwhile, began exploring a sale this summer amid pressure to do so from shareholders, including Longview Asset Management LLC and Jana. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that a handful of private-equity firms have been invited to the final round of bidding for the company, citing people familiar with the matter. The company's market capitalization is about $7.76 billion.

PetSmart reported Tuesday that its third-quarter profit edged down as the company reported higher costs that offset a 3% sales increase. PetSmart has announced a plan to cut costs by $200 million a year by 2016. The company expects same-store sales growth will be slightly positive in the fourth quarter, projecting a low-single-digit increase for fiscal 2015.

Its annual meeting is expected to take place in June, Jana said. The firm owns a stake of about 9.8%.

PetSmart shares were up one cent to $78.14 in late trading.

Write to Josh Beckerman at [e-mail]

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