Nelson Peltz's Trian to get 2 Sysco board seats after becoming biggest shareholder

Activist investor Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund is getting two Sysco board seats after becoming the food distributor's largest shareholder.

Sysco said Thursday that Peltz and Trian partner Josh Frank will join its board Friday.

Trian disclosed a 7.1-percent stake in the Houston-based company last Friday, saying the seller of foods to hospitals, schools and restaurants has underperformed.

In June Sysco gave up on a $3.5 billion deal to buy competitor U.S. Foods because antitrust regulators opposed it.

Trian owns stakes in big companies including and pushes for changes there, which the companies don't always go along with. PepsiCo, for example, rejected Peltz' push to separate its drinks and snack units. DuPont rejected his idea to break up into separate divisions and investors didn't elect Trian's board candidates, but Peltz took credit for a $5 billion share buyback and a spinoff of a chemicals unit.