Alden Global Capital, LLC Announces That Affiliate Has Filed a Lawsuit Seeking To Prevent Lee Enterprises from Disenfranchising Shareholders
February 22 2022 - 1:00PM
Business Wire
Alden Global Capital, LLC announced that its affiliate filed a
lawsuit seeking to prevent Lee from brazenly disenfranchising
shareholders by rigging the upcoming director election to guarantee
the re-election of entrenched directors who have profited
substantially even while the company is in a downward spiral and
its journalism is suffering. After announcing in December 2021 that
no valid stockholder nominations had been received, and winning a
court ruling on that point, Lee is now using an illegal voting
standard that prevents shareholders from meaningfully participating
if they wish to vote against two deeply entrenched directors --
Mary Junck and Herbert Moloney. This year's election is of
particular importance since these directors are only up every three
years.
Lee’s nominees are clearly the only candidates up for election,
but the Lee Board is falsely claiming that this year’s election is
‘contested' in order to use an improper 'plurality' voting standard
-- ensuring re-election for nominees who receive even as little as
a single vote in their favor. Alden remains committed to ensuring
Lee's shareholders have the opportunity they deserve to decide if
board members should be protected at all cost or forced out for
doing a bad job.
With this latest brazen act, Lee’s self-interested Board
continues to prioritize themselves over shareholders who have the
right to elect directors. Alden’s lawsuit is aimed at ensuring that
it is Lee’s shareholders who elect Lee’s directors, not Lee’s
Board.
CERTAIN INFORMATION CONCERNING THE
PARTICIPANTS
Alden Global Capital, LLC, together with the other participants
named herein (collectively the “Stockholder Group”), has filed a
preliminary proxy statement and accompanying BLUE proxy card with
the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to be used to
solicit votes in connection with the 2022 annual meeting of
stockholders of Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (the “Company”).
THE STOCKHOLDER GROUP STRONGLY ADVISES ALL STOCKHOLDERS OF THE
COMPANY TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND OTHER PROXY MATERIALS AS
THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT
INFORMATION. SUCH PROXY MATERIALS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT NO CHARGE ON
THE SEC'S WEB SITE AT HTTP://WWW.SEC.GOV. IN ADDITION, THE
PARTICIPANTS IN THIS PROXY SOLICITATION WILL PROVIDE COPIES OF THE
PROXY STATEMENT WITHOUT CHARGE, WHEN AVAILABLE, UPON REQUEST.
REQUESTS FOR COPIES SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO THE PARTICIPANTS' PROXY
SOLICITOR.
The participants in the solicitation are anticipated to be
Strategic Investment Opportunities LLC (“Opportunities”), MNG
Enterprises, Inc. (“MNG Enterprises”), MNG Investment Holdings, LLC
(“MNG Holdings”), Alden Global Capital LLC (“Alden”) and Heath
Freeman.
As of the date hereof, Opportunities directly beneficially owns
371,117 shares of Common Stock. MNG Holdings, as the managing
member of Opportunities, may be deemed the beneficial owner of the
371,117 shares of Common Stock owned directly by Opportunities. MNG
Enterprises, as the sole member of MNG Holdings, may be deemed the
beneficial holder of the 371,117 shares of Common Stock owned
directly by Opportunities. Alden, as the investment manager of
funds that collectively hold a majority voting interest in MNG
Enterprises, may be deemed the beneficial owner of the 371,117
shares of Common Stock owned directly by Opportunities. Mr.
Freeman, as the President of Alden, may be deemed the beneficial
owner of the 371,117 shares of Common Stock owned directly by
Opportunities.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220222006050/en/
Investors Innisfree M&A Incorporated Scott Winter / Jonathan
Salzberger / Gabrielle Wolf (212) 750-5833 Media Cameron Gurley
(646) 660-8642 cameron@goldin.com
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