April 3, 2025
Premca Capital, an investment fund, has nominated three directors for election to WW International’s board, according to the people familiar with the matter.
WW 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, due to devastating competition from the GLP-1 weight loss drugs.
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. Premca was founded by Rajit Marwah, a tech entrepreneur and alum of MySpace and Microsoft. The firm, which has a less than 1% stake in WW International, has been in talks with the company since November, the people said.
WeightWatchers has lost key executives, with its CEO Sima Sistani 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.
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.
WW 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.
Commentary
We don’t see how WW could cut costs by another $200-300 million on top of the $100 million already slated. However, injecting some fresh blood into the Board may be a good idea.
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