Shake Shack reaches ‘cooperation agreement’ with activist investor, will add two agreed upon board members

Shake Shack Inc.
SHAK,
+7.81%
announced Tuesday a “cooperation agreement” with activist investor Engaged Capital LLC, which will include the appointment of Jeffrey Lawrence to the burger chain’s board of directors. Lawrence, who is currently chief financial officer of technology company ShiftKey, is a former Domino’s Pizza Inc.
DPZ,
+0.09%
CFO. In addition, Shake Shack said it will work with Engage Capital to identify an additional, mutually agreed upon independent director with restaurant operations experience to appoint to the board, and agreed to take other actions that are in the best interests of shareholders. “We appreciate our constructive dialogue with Engaged Capital and believe the appointment of Jeff and another new director will benefit our Company and stockholders,” said Shake Shack Chief Executive Officer Randy Garutti. The Wall Street Journal had reported over the weekend that Engaged Capital, which held a roughly 6.6% stake in Shake Shack, was seeking three board seats and was planning a proxy fight. Shake Shack’s stock, which slipped 0.3% in premarket trading, has soared 58% over the past 12 months while the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.30%
has gained 3.2%.