Barington Capital Reminds Matthews International Shareholders to Cast Their Vote for Independent, Fresh Perspectives in the Boardroom
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: [email protected]
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SOURCE Barington Capital Group, L.P.