ETD
Ethan Allen Urges Shareholders to Back Its Five Nominees Against DGB Slate
Ethan Allen Interiors filed its definitive proxy statement with the SEC and mailed shareholders a letter urging holders of record to elect all five of its director nominees, including CEO Farooq Kathwari, and to withhold votes from the competing DGB nominees at the annual meeting scheduled for November 4. The company said its incumbent directors offer the experience and continuity needed to execute its strategy, and rejected claims by activist shareholder Doug Bergeron and his DGB Investment group, arguing that DGB is asking shareholders to replace every director before providing a detailed operating plan. The board battle began publicly on August 5, when Bergeron nominated an alternative five-person slate and launched a campaign to change the company's direction. DGB escalated the contest on September 22 by filing its definitive proxy statement, with Bergeron, whose group then reported ownership of approximately 5.2%, formally asking shareholders to elect all five DGB candidates on the contention that Ethan Allen has suffered roughly two decades of contraction and leadership and execution problems. Ethan Allen announced an ongoing CEO-succession process on September 21, which DGB criticized as late and insufficiently specific. Shares of Ethan Allen are down 8.1% on a year-to-date basis, and short interest stands at 11.8% of the total float.
ETD · Regulation · Neutral Ethan Allen is the subject of a proxy fight, urging shareholders to back its five director nominees against DGB's slate at the Nov 4 annual meeting.
DGB Investment · Regulation · Neutral DGB Investment, led by Doug Bergeron, is the activist running a competing five-person director slate and proxy campaign against Ethan Allen.