ConAgra Foods has finally agreed to add two directors to its board after it made settlement with Jana Partners, the activist investor that recently announced a stake in the struggling company.

According to a statement released by the company on Wednesday, Brad Alford, a former chief executive officer of Nestle USA, and Tim McLevish, a veteran of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and Kraft Foods, will be joining the company's board by July 22. This will be done as part of an agreement ConAgra signed with Jana.

ConAgra also agreed to nominate Alford and McLevish for election to make their way to the board at the company's 2015 annual meeting. The moves expand the board to 14 directors from 12.

Jana, a hedge fund founded by Barry Rosenstein, disclosed about its 7.2 % stake in ConAgra last month. It even threatened that it can nominate three directors to try to improve the company's performance.

ConAgra has been battling with declining sales and profit after its acquisition of private-label food maker Ralcorp Holdings Inc. in 2013. The company finalized the deal in March at a value of $1.3 billion, after Jana announced its stake.

Rosenstein said, "We are pleased to have worked constructively with ConAgra Foods to appoint Brad and Tim to the board. They bring a fresh perspective and unique insight to the company".

Shares of ConAgra fell 1.8% to $44.65 at the close in New York. Shares of the company gained 23 % this year, with much of the gain coming after Jana disclosed its stake.