Argo Group hands board seat to activist investment firm Voce Capital

Argo International Holdings

08/08/2022 22:12

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
    BOSTON, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Argo Group International Holdings
 ARGO.N  handed a board seat to its largest investor on Monday,
adding activist hedge fund manager J. Daniel Plants only a few
months after announcing a strategic review that could include a
sale of the insurance company.
    Argo, which underwrites specialty insurance products in the
property and casualty market, said it expanded the size of its
board by one to nine directors. Plants, who runs Voce Capital
Management, will serve on the strategic review and human
resources committees.
    Thomas Bradley, Argo's chief executive and executive
chairman, said Plants brings valuable investor perspective and a
unique understanding of the company. Plants said Argo is "deeply
undervalued" and that he supports the strategic review process.
    Voce owns 9.5% of Argo's shares and has been invested since
2018. Plants has previously pushed Argo to overhaul the board
and in 2020 the company added three new directors.
    Plants and Voce did not sign a cooperation agreement for
Plants to join the Argo board. This is the second time that Voce
has gotten a board seat without inking this kind of agreement
where the company generally makes concessions to the activist in
return for promises of support.
    Argo's share price has fallen 42% in the last 52 weeks and
in April the company said the board would consider a range of
options, including a potential sale, merger or other strategic
transaction. 

 (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Josie Kao)
 ((svea.herbst@thomsonreuters.com; +617 856 4331; Reuters
Messaging: svea.herbst.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))