(Bloomberg) -- Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management said it has held discussions with Janus Henderson Group Plc about getting representatives affiliated with Trian appointed to its board.
Trian said in a filing Thursday that as part of its ongoing discussions, it floated the idea of having independent directors affiliated with the New York-based investment firm appointed to the Janus board, among other candidates. Trian owns an almost 17% stake in Janus, according to the filing.
In November, Trian said it had proposed several strategic and operational changes at Janus, including board changes, in an effort to improve the British asset manager's performance. Thursday marked the first time it said it was seeking representation on the board for itself. It did not elaborate in the filing who it had put forth.
Janus Henderson said it regularly engages with its shareholders about ways to improve value for shareholders.
“While we don't comment on the specifics of those interactions, we continue to engage with Trian and are aware of their filing,” it said in an emailed statement.
Janus announced in November that Chief Executive Officer Dick Weil planned to retire at the end of March. The company said it has started a search for a replacement.
Trian, co-founded by Peltz, Ed Garden and Peter May, first disclosed a stake in Janus in October 2020. At the same time, Trian said it held a position in Invesco Ltd. Peltz contends that smaller asset managers like Invesco and Janus need to grow through consolidation to compete with dominant players such as BlackRock Inc.
Trian eventually won three seats on Invesco's board as part of a settlement. It's unclear whether representatives from the firm could sit on both boards or what measures would be implemented to mitigate that.
Shares in Janus have gained about 25% over the past 12 months. Since Trian first disclosed its stake in Janus, the asset manager has had a total return of 102%, while the total return at Invesco has reached about 124% over the same period, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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