Grand Rapids, Michigan-based SpartanNash has filed an investor presentation with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with its 2022 annual meeting of shareholders, scheduled for June 9.
The company issued the following statement:
“The SpartanNash board of directors and management team are committed to moving the company forward with a clear priority – driving long-term, sustainable value for all shareholders. Our preliminary first quarter financial results and raised fiscal year 2022 guidance demonstrate that our strategy is working. Further, our new long-term financial targets show a clear path for growth and continued momentum for the next several years.”
The presentation highlights how SpartanNash’s board “brings the expertise and skills required to successfully guide the company forward. When change was warranted, our board acted decisively to drive a comprehensive company transformation, appoint new management and improve operating performance. We appointed three new directors in February 2022 as part of a deliberate and thorough refreshment process that began in the summer of 2021. Further, we are confident that the skillsets of SpartanNash’s director nominees outmatch the Macellum and Ancora’s slate in every critical area.”
Other highlights of the presentation include:
- Board suited to advance transformation and SpartanNash nominees are superior to the Investor Group’s candidates:
- SpartanNash’s board has evolved to meet changing needs of business, with 56 percent of directors joining in last five years;
- The company’s accomplished nominees possess skills directly relevant to SpartanNash and reflective of shareholder input; and
- The board reviewed the investor group’s nominees and determined they bring no added skillsets, have questionable track records, reduce board diversity and risk disrupting SpartanNash’s successful turnaround.
- Investor Group are short-term investors fixated on financial engineering versus sustainable long-term value creation:
- The report states that the “investor group has done little to understand SpartanNash’s multi-faceted business and instead has prioritized financial engineering or a sale of the company. SpartanNash is not an apparel, discount or department store and the Investor Group’s recycled playbook is not right for SpartanNash as a distribution and food retail company. We believe the Investor Group has advocated for an ill-considered and short-term agenda that, if implemented, would harm SpartanNash. The board is open minded to any and all opportunities to enhance value – from any source – regularly evaluates options, and is not opposed to sale or any other credible value enhancing idea.”
- SpartanNash has sought constructive engagement, but Investor Group prioritized a proxy contest:
- SpartanNash reports that the board has taken action to engage constructively with Macellum and Ancora, but they refused to collaborate;
- Macellum rejected multiple offers to resolve the situation and avoid a proxy contest, including offers to appoint one of Macellum’s nominees; and
- Ancora never contacted the company and SpartanNash only learned of its involvement when the Investor Group’s letter was leaked.
To view the full presentation, visit spartannashtransformation.com.
For more information on Macellum and Ancora’s presentation to SpartanNash presented by The Shelby Report, click here.
