Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Trian Fund Management, Eddie Lampert, Crispr Therapeutics AG (CRSP), Select Interior Concepts (SIC), and More

Trian to Skip PPG Board Challenge After New Commitments: Sources (Reuters)
(Reuters) – Trian Fund Management LP will not challenge PPG Industries Inc’s (PPG.N) board of directors at its 2019 shareholder meeting after the U.S. paints and coatings company met some of the activist hedge fund’s demands and announced new financial targets, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Trian, run by billionaire Nelson Peltz, asked PPG last October to replace its Chief Executive Michael McGarry with former CEO Chuck Bunch, look at how it uses its balance sheet, explore a break-up of the company, and eliminate the company’s practice of re-electing only a portion of its board instead of its entirety every year.

Lampert’s $5.2 Billion Sears Deal Gets Backing From BofA, Cyrus (Bloomberg)
Eddie Lampert’s ESL Investments Inc. will finance its winning $5.2 billion bid to salvage Sears Holdings Corp. in part with $850 million from a new asset-based loan, according to a regulatory filing Friday. The deal will also be financed by ESL’s forgiving $1.3 billion of Sears debt that it holds, and with $621 million of existing senior debt that’s being rolled over to the post-bankruptcy company, the filing said. The new Sears will assume another $592 million of other liabilities tied to Sears entities.

Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com

Luby’s will Add Two to Board Amid Pressure from Hedge Fund Investor (Reuters)
(Reuters) – Casual dining chain Luby’s Inc (LUB.N) will shake up its board, it said on Friday, just one week before shareholders vote on whether to add an investor activist’s representatives as directors. The company, which is facing pressure from Bandera Capital, a New York hedge fund that owns nearly 10 percent of its shares, will invite two new independent directors to replace two sitting members and will choose a new chair.