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VIEX Capital Nominates Two Highly Qualified Candidates For Election To The Board Of KVH Industries, Inc.
March 4, 2021
NEW YORK, March 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- VIEX Capital Advisors, LLC, who together with its affiliates beneficially own approximately 3.4% of the outstanding shares of common stock of KVH Industries, Inc. (the "Company") (NASDAQGS:KVHI), today issued an open letter to stockholders and announced that it has nominated two highly-qualified directors – John Mutch and Eric Singer – for election as Class I Directors to the Company's Board of Directors at the Company's upcoming 2021 annual meeting of stockholders.
VIEX Capital Advisors, LLC, together with its affiliates and the other participants named herein (collectively, "VIEX" or "we"), a significant stockholder of KVH Industries, Inc. ("KVH" or the "Company"), beneficially owning approximately 3.4% of the Company's outstanding shares of Common Stock, is dedicated to maximizing value for KVH's stockholders, the true owners of the Company. As a substantial stockholder of the Company, our interests are directly aligned with those of all KVH stockholders - to maximize the value of the Company's stock.
In order to create this value for stockholders, in mid-January we nominated two highly-qualified independent directors for election as Class I Directors to the Board of Directors (the "Board") at the Company's upcoming 2021 annual meeting of stockholders (the "Annual Meeting"). We have nominated our candidates because we are deeply concerned by the Company's inadequate corporate governance, stale incumbent board and poor stock price performance.
It is evident to us that the Board must be refreshed with truly independent directors to ensure that the interests of KVH's stockholders are adequately represented in the boardroom and that the Board takes the necessary steps to help the Company's stockholders realize the true value of their investment.
Incessant Destruction of Stockholder Value at KVH
Despite a recent uptick this year, KVH's stockholder value has historically underperformed its peers under the incumbent Board's oversight. The Company's total shareholder returns were negative over the past ten-year period and have significantly lagged behind market and industry peers' growth over the past one-, three- and five-year periods. The even longer term performance over the past ten- and fifteen-year periods puts in bold relief the underperformance of KVH under the leadership of this Board. Eric Singer has demonstrated financial expertise and significant experience serving as a director of various technology companies. Mr. Singer serves as the managing member of each of VIEX GP, VSO GP II and VIEX Capital. Currently, Mr. Singer serves on the board of directors of A10 Networks, an application controller and firewall cloud security company, where he has served as Lead Independent Director since September 2020, and Immersion Corporation, a premier licensing company focused on the creation, design, development, and licensing of innovative haptic technologies, where he has served as Executive Chairman since August 2020. Previously, Mr. Singer served as chairman of the board of directors of RhythmOne plc, YuMe, Inc. and Sigma Designs, Inc., and as a director of Quantum Corporation, Support.com, Numerex Corp., TigerLogic Corporation, IEC Electronics, Meru Networks, Inc., PLX Technology, Inc. and Zilog Corporation. Link to full article.
In order to create this value for stockholders, in mid-January we nominated two highly-qualified independent directors for election as Class I Directors to the Board of Directors (the "Board") at the Company's upcoming 2021 annual meeting of stockholders (the "Annual Meeting"). We have nominated our candidates because we are deeply concerned by the Company's inadequate corporate governance, stale incumbent board and poor stock price performance.
It is evident to us that the Board must be refreshed with truly independent directors to ensure that the interests of KVH's stockholders are adequately represented in the boardroom and that the Board takes the necessary steps to help the Company's stockholders realize the true value of their investment.
Incessant Destruction of Stockholder Value at KVH
Despite a recent uptick this year, KVH's stockholder value has historically underperformed its peers under the incumbent Board's oversight. The Company's total shareholder returns were negative over the past ten-year period and have significantly lagged behind market and industry peers' growth over the past one-, three- and five-year periods. The even longer term performance over the past ten- and fifteen-year periods puts in bold relief the underperformance of KVH under the leadership of this Board. Eric Singer has demonstrated financial expertise and significant experience serving as a director of various technology companies. Mr. Singer serves as the managing member of each of VIEX GP, VSO GP II and VIEX Capital. Currently, Mr. Singer serves on the board of directors of A10 Networks, an application controller and firewall cloud security company, where he has served as Lead Independent Director since September 2020, and Immersion Corporation, a premier licensing company focused on the creation, design, development, and licensing of innovative haptic technologies, where he has served as Executive Chairman since August 2020. Previously, Mr. Singer served as chairman of the board of directors of RhythmOne plc, YuMe, Inc. and Sigma Designs, Inc., and as a director of Quantum Corporation, Support.com, Numerex Corp., TigerLogic Corporation, IEC Electronics, Meru Networks, Inc., PLX Technology, Inc. and Zilog Corporation. Link to full article.