MiMedx (NSDQ:MDXG) today urged its shareholders to vote for its nominees as it faces a proxy challenge from former CEO Parker Petit, who was ousted last July “for cause.”
The Marietta, Ga.-based company is under a court order to hold its annual shareholder meeting on June 17, but said in April that it plans to appeal the ruling.
Last week, MiMedx released a new “comprehensive plan” to refresh its board composition in cooperation with major shareholder Prescience Point Capital Management, including the election of recently appointed CEO Timothy Wright and a handful of others to the company’s board.
In their proxy statement released in April, former CEO Petit nominated himself alongside former Pulte Home Corp tax director David Furstenburger and George & Lorenson partner Shawn George as candidates for the company’s board of directors.
In a press release today, MiMedx urged shareholders to vote for its nominees and warned of a significant disruption to its business if Petit returned to its board, and accused him of “serious wrongdoing.”
“In the company’s view, the return of Mr. Petit to the board would disrupt the company and the substantial progress it has made since the allegations regarding certain sales and distribution practices at the company in early 2018. Working with outside counsel and forensic accountants, the audit committee of the board conducted its independent investigation into those allegations. The unmistakable conclusion from the independent investigation was that Mr. Petit and certain members of his management team engaged in serious wrongdoing. This misconduct has harmed MiMedx and its shareholders—the company is a defendant in a multitude of lawsuits, faces regulatory inquiries and has had its stock delisted from Nasdaq. The stock price has fallen substantially, and the company’s market value is down more than $1 billion since February 2018,” the company wrote in a press release.
MiMedx said that it is making “important strides” towards recovering from the supposed wrongful conduct of Petit and the previous management, including the hiring of new execs and senior management team members.
“MiMedx believes that its nominees have the industry experience and governance expertise to objectively oversee the company’s strategy, act in the best interest of shareholders, assist with the resolution of the remaining issues stemming from the prior management team’s misconduct and help put the company back on the path to success. MiMedx believes that, by contrast, Mr. Petit’s campaign for election to the Board is motivated by his desire to achieve personal and professional redemption, rather than a desire to serve shareholders, and MiMedx struggles to understand what either of Mr. Petit’s nominees could possibly bring to the board,” MiMedx
wrotein a press release.
