By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
NEW YORK (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 (NASDAQ:MATW).
In addition to Mitarotonda, Barington nominated Ana Amicarella, who currently serves on the boards of Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) and Warrior Met Coal (NYSE:HCC), and investment industry veteran Chan Galbato, who runs Cerberus Operations and Advisory Company and served on the board of grocer Albertsons (NYSE:ACI) 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 (NYSE:JPM) 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.