Orthofix International Urges Shareholders to Reject Activist Hedge Fund’s Proposals
BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Orthofix International N.V. (NASDAQ: OFIX) (the Company) today urged shareholders to reject the proposals put forth by Ramius in their ongoing proxy contest. Earlier this week, the independent proxy advisory firm PROXY Governance, Inc. recommended that shareholders reject each of the activist hedge fund’s proposals, stating “The problem with the dissident campaign is not an inability to evaluate what went wrong, but the profound absence of a plan to effect a credible recovery.”
Another proxy advisory firm, RiskMetrics Group (RMG), made a split recommendation in favor of three of the four Ramius nominees. This is a common practice for RMG, which noted in their report that “the burden of proof on the dissidents is lower.” Whereas PROXY Governance found “the profound absence of a plan” to be a major factor that shareholders should weigh in evaluating Ramius’ proposals, RMG appeared to hold the dissident shareholder to a lower standard. In their report, RMG stated they “will not require from the dissidents a detailed plan of action, nor will we require that their plan is preferable to the incumbent plan.”