4 days ago
Market Basket CEO Arthur T. Demoulas is in a new fight for control of the company. Here's what we know.
What's going on at Market Basket? CEO Arthur T. Demoulas and the board of directors are in a dispute over his role with the popular supermarket chain.
Here's what we know about the new Market Basket fight so far.
Demoulas, two of his children and three other Market Basket executives were suspended and put on paid leave on Wednesday, May 28. The board said the CEO is being investigated by an independent law firm "for planning a work stoppage in retaliation for requests from the board for basic collaboration and oversight."
Demoulas said the investigation is "a farcical cover for a hostile takeover."
He said he was "ousted from his position as President and CEO of Market Basket by his three sisters and their three appointed board members - Jay Hachigian, Steven Collins, and Michael Keyes."
As of Friday morning, a spokesperson for the board said, "there are currently 0 negotiations going on between Artie T and the board."
Who owns Market Basket?
Arthur T. Demoulas is the CEO of Market Basket, but he owns just 28-percent of the company. His three sisters each have a 20-percent share, for a total of 60-percent.
The other 12-percent of the company is in a trust for the family's grandchildren.
Will there be a Market Basket strike or walkout?
There's been no comment from Demoulas on this.
Jay Hachigian, the chair of the Board at Market Basket said, "nothing is going to change."
"There's no plan to change pricing. There's no plan to change associates. There's no plan to change ownership. The business is not for sale. There really are no plans to change anything," he said in a statement. "This is really a matter strictly between the board and the CEO."
Market Basket boycott
There is no boycott of Market Basket right now.
Back in the summer of 2014, when Arthur T. Demoulas and his sisters were in a battle with his cousin for control of the company, there was a customer boycott. Market Basket employees walked out to defend the man they know as "Artie T."
It lasted six weeks and Demoulas and his sisters won.
"Under Mr. Demoulas' leadership in December of 2024, the company paid off $1.6 billion in debt that financed the purchase of the company in 2014," a Demoulas spokesperson said Wednesday.
However, the board said the sisters provided most of the money that allowed Market Basket to repay the $1.6 million they were loaned in 2014.
Now, Demoulas is squaring off the with board, and, he says, his sisters as well.
"Hijacked this company"
"This is not a family dispute. This is a matter simply between the board and the CEO," Hachigian said.
"Mr. Demoulas has acted for years as if he owns the entire company and can make every decision, big and small, without discussion or accountability to anyone. He has essentially hijacked this company for himself, and when the board put its foot down, he started to make plans to boycott and harm the company. It's simple: he wants it his way or no way. And that's not the way a CEO and minority owner like Arthur can be allowed to continue to conduct himself."
