SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Orbis Investment Management Limited (“Orbis”), a global investment firm, today issued a statement denouncing Arconic’s efforts to undermine shareholder choice and mislead investors.
Through the Orbis family of funds, Orbis has been a shareholder in Arconic and its predecessor company, Alcoa Inc., since 2013, and currently owns more than 17.2 million shares of Arconic, or 3.9% of shares outstanding.
“Over the course of this proxy contest, Arconic has demonstrated a pattern of egregious behaviour intended solely to entrench the company’s current leadership at the expense of shareholders. These actions are an insult to good corporate governance and bring even greater urgency to the need for new leadership at Arconic,” said Adam R. Karr, partner at Orbis.
Orbis is deeply troubled that the company created, hid, and then threatened to invoke the so-called “poison put” provision, potentially subjecting shareholders to a substantial liability. This insidious act is intended to intimidate shareholders and manipulate the upcoming vote.
Further, the company’s decision to exchange shareholder assets for potential votes as part of the August 2016 settlement with Oak Hill, and then to hide this arrangement from shareholders for months, was a serious breach of fiduciary responsibility. The company’s subsequent waiver of this voting agreement in no way mitigates the severity of the violation of shareholder trust.
Sadly, rather than recognizing these actions as the breaches of shareholder trust that they are, Arconic’s independent directors have instead chosen to ignore, defend, and even participate in these activities. Shareholders deserve better. Consequently, Orbis reiterates its intent to vote the Blue Card for Elliott’s slate of independent nominees.
Notes to Editors:
Orbis was founded in 1989 and manages over $30 billion across a range of long-only equity and absolute return strategies using a fundamental, long-term and contrarian investment philosophy. Its flagship Global Equity strategy has outperformed its benchmark by approximately 5% per annum net of fees over more than 25 years. All fee structures are performance-based and the firm’s employees, management and owners are significant investors in the Orbis Funds. Headquartered in Bermuda, Orbis employs over 300 professionals in nine global locations. www.orbis.com