Shark soup: Why an activist investor is after Campbell’s

Sales are down at Campbell Soup Co., headquartered in Camden, N.J. Now it's being pursued by an activist investor. Will the iconic, nearly 150-year-old company survive?

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Cans of Campbell's soup are displayed in a supermarket in Homestead, Pa., in this Nov. 2006 file photo. (Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo)

Cans of Campbell's soup are displayed in a supermarket in Homestead, Pa., in this Nov. 2006 file photo. (Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo)

Campbell Soup Company, headquartered in Camden, New Jersey, has seen better days. Canned soup has fallen out of fashion and the nearly 150-year-old company’s sales are down. And now it’s enduring an attack from one of its own shareholders, a shrewd investor bent on raising profits by any means necessary. On this episode of The Why, WHYY reporter Joe Hernandez discusses what this means for the future of the iconic company — and for the city of Camden.

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