Urges Shareholders Not to be Fooled by the
Company's 11th Hour Governance Changes: Clearly A
Direct Reaction to Barington's Nomination
Encourages Shareholders to Follow the
Recommendations of Leading Independent Proxy Advisory Firms ISS,
Glass Lewis, and Egan-Jones by Voting
the GOLD Proxy Card "FOR" the Election
of ALL of Barington's Nominees
NEW
YORK, Feb. 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/
-- Barington Capital Group, L.P. ("Barington Capital"), a
fundamental, value-oriented activist investor that, together with
the other participants in its solicitation (collectively
"Barington" or "we"), beneficially owns approximately 2.2% of the
outstanding shares of Matthews International Corporation (NASDAQ:
MATW) ("Matthews" or the "Company"), today issued a statement in
response to Matthews' recently announced corporate governance
changes.
James Mitarotonda, Chairman and
CEO of Barington Capital, said, "Matthews' 11th hour gamesmanship
is a desperate attempt by Joseph
Bartolacci and the current Matthews directors to perpetuate
the status quo. We believe these actions are a direct result of
Barington's efforts to drive much-needed change, and are simply too
little, too late. Indeed, as recently as last month, Matthews
flatly rejected our public call for the Company to declassify its
staggered board of directors (the "Board").[i]
"A prime example of Matthews' governance changes falling
terribly short, in our view, is that Greg
Babe, one of three insiders on the Board, has been allowed
to remain a director. Despite Mr. Babe's full-time role as
Executive Vice President of Matthews' Industrial Technologies
business – and responsibility for the Company's Battery Storage
business – the Board has allowed him to manage another, unrelated
company, Liquid X Printed Metals, Inc., into which Matthews
invested $3.1 million that was
subsequently written off in its entirety.
"Worse, Matthews' so-called governance enhancements come on the
same day that the Company announced a letter of intent to sell the
remaining businesses of SGK Brand Solutions. The announcement of a
potential transaction – before a definitive agreement has been
reached and with no guarantee that it will be consummated – further
reflects Matthews' desperation heading into the upcoming annual
meeting.
"Shareholders should not be fooled by Matthews' last-ditch
efforts to hide from its protracted failure to protect shareholder
interests and manipulate a fair election of directors. It is
clear to us that only by electing Barington's independent nominees
will accountability and oversight be enhanced in the boardroom and
shareholder value be maximized. We strongly urge shareholders to
protect the value of their investment by voting
the GOLD proxy card "FOR" ALL of
Barington's highly qualified nominees, who, as directors, will help
bring the board effectiveness, relevant skills and experience,
accountability and track records of value creation that Matthews
requires to improve corporate governance, reestablish credibility
and create value for all shareholders."
VOTE THE GOLD PROXY CARD "FOR" ALL OF
BARINGTON'S NOMINEES TODAY!
Barington encourages all shareholders to
visit https://barington.com/matthews to
review additional information regarding its campaign for change at
Matthews.
ABOUT BARINGTON CAPITAL GROUP, L.P.
Barington Capital Group, L.P. is a fundamental, value-oriented
activist investment firm established by James Mitarotonda in January 2000.
Barington invests in undervalued publicly traded companies that
Barington believes can appreciate significantly in value when
substantive improvements are made to their operations, corporate
strategy, capital allocation and corporate governance.
Barington's investment team, advisors and network of industry
experts draw upon their extensive strategic, operating and
boardroom experience to assist companies in designing and
implementing initiatives to improve long-term shareholder
value.
Media Contact:
Jonathan Gasthalter/Amanda Shpiner
Gasthalter & Co.
212-257-4170
Important Information and Participants in the
Solicitation
Barington has filed a definitive proxy statement and associated
GOLD proxy card with the Securities and Exchange Commission
("SEC") to be used to solicit votes for the election of its slate
of highly-qualified director nominees at the upcoming annual
meeting of stockholders of the Company. Details regarding the
Barington nominees and the participants in its solicitation are
included in its proxy statement and Barington strongly advises all
shareholders of the company to read the proxy statement and other
proxy materials as they contain important information.
The participants in Barington's proxy solicitation are
Barington, Barington Companies Investors, LLC, Barington Capital
Group, L.P., LNA Capital Corp., James
Mitarotonda, 1 NBL EH, LLC, Joseph
Gromek, Ana B. Amicarella and
Chan W. Galbato.
If you have any questions, require assistance in
voting your GOLD universal proxy card, or need
additional copies of Barington's proxy materials, please
contact:
Okapi Partners
1212 Avenue of the Americas, 17th Floor
New York, NY 10036
Banks and Brokerage Firms, Please Call: (212)
297-0720
Shareholders and All Others Call Toll-Free: (877) 285-5990
E-mail: info@okapipartners.com
i Barington letter to fellow shareholders,
January 10, 2025
(www.barington.com/matthews).
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/barington-capital-responds-to-matthews-internationals-desperate-effort-to-manipulate-board-election-302377402.html
SOURCE Barington Capital Group, L.P.
