WeightWatchers Investor Launches Fight for Board Seats
Company’s stock has fallen with competition intensifying from telehealth providers of GLP-1 drugs
A small shareholder is launching a proxy fight at WeightWatchers’ parent company, seeking board seats and hundreds of millions of dollars in cost cuts, according to people familiar with the matter.
The details
Premca Capital, an investment fund, has nominated three directors for election to WW International’s WW -0.04%decrease; red down pointing triangle board, according to the people familiar with the matter.
WW International, formerly known as Weight Watchers International, has navigated a rough period as it attempts to shift more of its business to focus on GLP-1 weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic.
The company has a market capitalization of about $40 million, following a sharp decline in its shares in recent years. Its stock is down nearly 70% in the past year.
Premca wants WeightWatchers to slash costs by $200 million to $300 million, on top of the cuts the company has already been making. It is also pushing for an overhaul of management, a revamp of the WeightWatchers app and the adoption of a growth plan, according to the people familiar with the matter.
The firm, which has a less than 1% stake in WW International, has been in talks with the company since November, the people said.
The context
WeightWatchers has lost key executives, with its chief executive and chief financial officer leaving the company in the past year. Oprah Winfrey, the longtime face of the company, also stepped down from the board early last year and donated her shares. (Winfrey later said the move was meant to avoid a conflict of interest with a special she was making about weight-loss drugs.)
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
What impact will the proxy fight have on WeightWatchers? Join the conversation below.
The company held over $1.4 billion in long-term debt as of Dec. 28. WeightWatchers’ lenders in February began restructuring discussions with the company, The Wall Street Journal reported.
WeightWatchers’ revenue fell 12% to $785.9 million in 2024, and the company generated an operating loss, largely because of goodwill impairment charges. The company is already on pace to cut $100 million in annual costs by the end of this year as part of a broader plan that has included job cuts, it said in February.
Premca was founded by Rajit Marwah, a tech entrepreneur and alum of MySpace and Microsoft.