Rare Unanimous Support of Barington's Nominees
from All Three Leading Independent Proxy Advisory Firms ISS, Glass
Lewis, and Egan-Jones Further Validates the Need for Ana
Amicarella, Chan Galbato and
James Mitarotonda on the Matthews
Board
Strongly Urges Shareholders to Vote
"FOR" the Election
of ALL of Barington Capital's Nominees
Ahead of Tomorrow's Annual Meeting
NEW
YORK, Feb. 19, 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 common stock of Matthews International
Corporation (NASDAQ: MATW) ("Matthews" or the "Company"), reminds
Matthews shareholders that tomorrow's Annual Meeting of
Shareholders (the "Annual Meeting") presents a critical opportunity
to help the Company restore good governance, market credibility and
long-term value creation through the election of Barington's
nominees – Ana Amicarella,
Chan Galbato and James Mitarotonda – to the Company's Board
of Directors (the "Board").
In casting your vote, Barington asks shareholders to consider
the following:
- The current Board has overseen an inordinately long period
of share price underperformance, unacceptable capital
allocation and operating execution, and inexcusably poor corporate
governance while failing to hold CEO Joseph
C. Bartolacci accountable for any of his management
decisions which have destroyed shareholder value during his entire
18-year tenure.
- Barington's director nominees – Ana
Amicarella, Chan Galbato and
James Mitarotonda – bring the
relevant skills, board experience, independent perspectives and
fierce commitment to shareholders desperately needed at Matthews.
As a shareholder, you must question whether you can trust the
oversight of a Board that has gone to such extreme lengths to
exclude nominees of this caliber from the Boardroom.
- All three leading independent proxy advisory firms – ISS,
Glass Lewis and Egan-Jones – UNANIMOUSLY recommend
shareholders vote "FOR" ALL of Barington's
nominees*:
- Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. ("ISS"): "…the
board continues to suffer from major deficiencies with independence
that necessitate further change. In light of these and other
factors, support for dissident nominees Ana
Amicarella, Chan Galbato, and
James Mitarotonda are warranted on
the dissident (GOLD) card."
- Glass Lewis & Co. ("Glass Lewis"): "… the status quo
does not clearly represent the most compelling outcome at this
time, and that Barington — which we do believe can credibly claim
to have served as a catalyst at Matthews — has presented a stronger
case here."
- Egan-Jones Proxy Services ("Egan-Jones"): "… we believe
that a reshaped Board consisting of the Barington slate would
provide value-added insights and fresh perspectives in the board
room. We are also convinced that the credible and strong track
record of the Barington nominees in a multi-faceted industry would
help to re-align the strategic direction of Matthews."
- The current Board's last-minute actions are a desperate
attempt to placate shareholders by diverting attention away
from the Company's failures and only reinforce the case for urgent
change. We believe these maneuvers, including the immediate
resignation of Gregory S. Babe,
would never have been contemplated if not for our nomination of
directors. The Board, in our view, is incapable of protecting
shareholders' investment and creating value absent guidance from
Barington and its experienced, independent nominees.
VOTE "FOR" ALL OF BARINGTON'S NOMINEES BEFORE
IT'S TOO LATE!
*Barington has neither sought nor obtained consent from ISS,
Glass Lewis or Egan-Jones to use previously published information
in this press release.
For additional information regarding Barington's campaign at
Matthews, visit: https://barington.com/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
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content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/barington-capital-reminds-matthews-international-shareholders-to-cast-their-vote-for-independent-fresh-perspectives-in-the-boardroom-302379776.html
SOURCE Barington Capital Group, L.P.
