Sun nominees prevail in FBI proxy contest
Three longtime FBI directors are ousted
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, May 21, 2008
ST. LOUIS – Furniture Brands International confirmed Tuesday that three people nominated by stockholder Sun Capital Partners were victorious in a contentious proxy contest for seats on the company’s eight-member board of directors.
The three Sun Capital nominees ousted longtime FBI directors Katherine Bell, Richard Loynd and Albert Suter in proxy voting that concluded at the company’s annual meeting on May 1.
The new Sun Capital-backed board members are Alan Schwartz, a professor at Yale Law School; Ira Kaplan, the recently retired chief financial officer of retailer Claire’s Stores; and T. Scott King, managing director of Sun Capital.
Furniture Brands didn’t disclose specific vote totals, but said Chairman and CEO Ralph Scozzafava received the highest number of stockholder votes. Other directors re-elected were Aubrey Patterson, Bobby Martin, John Jordan and Mickey Holliman, who recently stepped down as chairman.
“The addition of three new members to our board of directors gives us a chance to gain fresh insights into how we are approaching our business and evaluating new opportunities,” said Scozzafava. “I know that we all look foward to working together to bring increased value to all Furniture Brands stockholders.”
In the weeks leading up to the annual meeting, Sun Capital sent several letters to FBI stockholders that were critical of a restructuring plan the company announced last fall. The group, which owns 9.45% of FBI’s shares, also criticized the board for not acting on a pair of merger proposals.
For its part, FBI maintained that having Sun Capital representatives on the board would create a conflict of interest since the investment firm owns several manufacturers that compete with FBI companies.
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