Proxy adviser ISS backs one of Ancora's board nominees at Blucora (updated)

Avantax

09/04/2021 17:25

(Recasts to reflect ISS recommendation)
    By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
    BOSTON, April 9 (Reuters) - Proxy adviser Institutional
Shareholder Services (ISS) on Friday said Blucora Inc  BCOR.O 
shareholders should vote for one of Ancora Holdings Inc's four
nominees for the Blucora board after the activist investor urged
the company to explore strategic alternatives for the tax
services business.
    "The merits of the issues raised by the dissident lead to a
conclusion that change is warranted, specifically in the form of
direct shareholder representation in the boardroom," ISS
analysts wrote.
    ISS urges shareholders to vote for Frederick DiSanto, who is
chairman and CEO of Cleveland-based Ancora, arguing he is the
only one of Ancora's four proposed candidates who has experience
serving on a public board.
    Ancora owns a 3% stake in Irving, Texas-based Blucora and
has urged the company to consider alternatives for its tax
services business, including a sale.
    The ISS recommendation stands in contrast to a separate
recommendation from smaller rival proxy adviser Glass, Lewis and
Co, which said on Friday that shareholders should back the
company's nominees and reject the dissident's directors.
    These types of recommendations often guide investors on
critical votes for directors or mergers.
    Glass, Lewis said earlier on Friday that the Ancora
candidates "do not clearly offer what we consider to be a
superior alternative to the status quo."
    ISS meanwhile noted that Ancora should have a voice, in part
because its 3.4% stake in Blucora is more than twice that of the
board and management combined. The report said Ancora has
identified critical issues at the company and presented a
solution, adding the company does not appear to have a plan for
its net operating loss assets and has a mixed history of meeting
acquisition projections. 
    But ISS also said it is not clear whether Ancora's preferred
solution - exploring a sale of its TaxAct unit - is the best
fix, or that the time is right to pursue a sale.    

 (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss in Boston
Editing by Toby Chopra and Matthew Lewis)
 ((svea.herbst@thomsonreuters.com; +617 856 4331; Reuters
Messaging: svea.herbst.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))