Barington nominates Mitarotonda and two others as directors at Matthews (updated)

Forward Air (Delaware)

19/12/2024 14:04

(Updates with comment from Matthews in paragraphs 3 and 7)
    By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
       NEW YORK, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Activist investor Barington
Capital Management nominated its founder, James Mitarotonda, and
two other executives with public board experience as director
candidates at casket maker Matthews International  MATW.O . 
    In addition to Mitarotonda, Barington nominated Ana
Amicarella, who currently serves on the boards of Forward Air
 FWRD.O  and Warrior Met Coal  HCC.N , and investment industry
veteran Chan Galbato, who runs Cerberus Operations and Advisory
Company and served on the board of grocer Albertsons  ACI.N 
until recently, Barington said. 
    "The Matthews board and management team are committed to
serving in the best interests of all our shareholders," the
company said. 
    Barington owns about 2% of the outstanding stock of
Matthews, which makes products for cemeteries, funeral homes and
crematories. It wants the company to replace Chief Executive
Joseph Bartolacci, who has been running the company for nearly
two decades, the hedge fund said last week.
    It also wants Matthews to consider divesting its SGK Brand
Solutions segment, follow through with its review for its
Warehouse Automation and Product Identification businesses and
find a partner for its Energy Storage (dry cell lithium-ion
battery) manufacturing business.
    Three Matthews directors who sit on the 11-member board are
expected to stand for reelection at the company's annual meeting
early next year. Barington also wants the company to ensure that
all directors stand for election annually and plans to submit a
proposal to declassify the board.
    Matthews said last week that its business outlook is strong.
It previously announced it had hired JPMorgan Chase  JPM.N  and
was exploring strategic alternatives. That news pushed the stock
price up more than 20%. "As the evaluation of strategic
alternatives underscores, we will continue to take actions that
are in the best interests of driving long-term value creation
for all our shareholders," the company also said.
    Since January, the company's shares have lost nearly 25% to
close at $27.77 on Wednesday.

 (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss in New York; Editing by
Matthew Lewis and Jonathan Oatis)
 ((svea.herbst@thomsonreuters.com; +617 233 2138; Reuters
Messaging: svea.herbst.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))