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  "documentTitle": "Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI)",
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  "authorName": "Starboard Value",
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  "presentationDate": "2014-09-11 00:00:00",
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  "notes": "Uses specific historical anecdotes (2002, 2014) to build a pattern of behavior.",
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      "text": "Given this distressing history, why would the Board look to add a director with a well-known Reg-FD violation?",
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      "text": "On March 3rd, during Darden's call to explain the Company's rationale for the Red Lobster spin, management took questions from just four analysts and declined to provide details on several important questions. Darden canceled its Analyst and Investor Day, scheduled for March 28, 2014. Management shortened the Q3 2014 earnings call to 45 minutes and shut out critical analysts from asking questions. A recent CNBC article titled “Darden Uses Lobster Claws On Critical Analysts” chronicles tactics used by Darden to put a muzzle on analysts who provide critical analysis.",
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      "text": "Darden has a long history of silencing critics and trying to avoid an active dialogue on key issues.",
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      "text": "This is highly alarming – shareholders need to trust that management will provide equal access to all analysts and that sell-side analysts will be unbiased",
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      "text": "In 2002, The New York Times published an article about Matthew DiFrisco, an analyst who downgraded Darden's stock to 'neutral' from 'outperform.' Following the downgrade, Darden's investor relations officer Matthew Stroud canceled a marketing trip with DiFrisco's clients, telling him that he needed to have an 'outperform' rating to enjoy such a privilege.",
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      "text": "Some investors are protesting that Darden's idea of 'direct engagement' amounts to returning the phone calls of analysts and investors who agree with its strategy while ignoring calls from dissenters. 'They've got a history of only engaging with investors and analysts who are supportive of their views,' said one Darden shareholder, who declined to give his name for fear of retribution from the company. 'If the board is so convinced [a Red Lobster spinoff] is such a great idea, then put it to a vote.'",
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      "text": "“In 2002, The New York Times published an article about Matthew DiFrisco, an analyst who downgraded Darden's stock to ‘neutral’ from ‘outperform.’ Following the downgrade, Darden's investor relations officer Matthew Stroud canceled a marketing trip with DiFrisco's clients, telling him that he needed to have an ‘outperform’ rating to enjoy such a privilege.” — The New York Times. “Some investors are protesting that Darden's idea of ‘direct engagement’ amounts to returning the phone calls of analysts and investors who agree with its strategy while ignoring calls from dissenters. ‘They've got a history of only engaging with investors and analysts who are supportive of their views,’ said one Darden shareholder, who declined to give his name for fear of retribution from the company. ‘If the board is so convinced [a Red Lobster spinoff] is such a great idea, then put it to a vote.’” — New York Post",
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      "text": "Time and again Darden has shown a blatant disregard for shareholder concerns and a propensity to silence critics",
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