Print communications provider Cenveo’s new CEO issued a letter to shareholders last week urging them to oppose a bid by dissident shareholders led by investor Robert Burton to take over leadership of the company.
Cenveo shareholders vote Sept. 14 on whether to stick with the current executive team or appoint Burton and his supporters. In the letter, CEO James R. Malone, who was hired in June, warned that Burton’s group was trying to take over Cenveo without giving any value to shareholders.
“Remember, Burton is not offering to pay a control premium,” Malone wrote. “He is not offering to buy your shares. Instead, he is seeking to gain control by installing himself as chief executive officer, installing his associates as directors and his children into important management positions.”
Malone said he has a plan in place to cut $55 million in annual costs from the company by the end of the year and to streamline management, consolidate facilities and discontinue unnecessary programs. Burton has yet to reveal his plan to investors, Malone said.
Burton, president of Burton Capital Management, along with Goodwood Inc. called for the shareholder vote in June. Burton and Goodwood have criticized Cenveo executives for failing to maximize shareholder value and improve the company’s performance.
In a recent statement to Cenveo shareholders, Burton Capital Management said Cenveo’s management had “badly failed” investors. From Jan. 1, 2000, to April 7, 2005, investments in Cenveo lost 53 percent of their value, Burton said.
“BCM and Goodwood believe this is completely unacceptable,” Burton said in the statement.
