Photo by James Sanna | Banker & Tradesman Staff
A New York-based asset manager that recently voiced concerns about the sale of Boston Private to Silicon Valley Bank plans to nominate its own candidates, including its co-founders, to the bank’s board of directors.
HoldCo Asset Management LP earlier this month sent an open letter to Boston Private with concerns about “the integrity of the process undertaken by BPFH to maximize value for shareholders.” HoldCo and its managed funds own approximately 4.9 percent of Boston Private’s outstanding stock, the company said in a statement.
HoldCo yesterday said it had submitted a notice that it intends to nominate up to five candidates for Boston Private’s board of directors.
“We agree with the Board of Boston Private that the best way to maximize value for shareholders is to pursue a sales process,” Vik Ghei and Michael Zaitzeff, co-founders of HoldCo, said in a statement. “It is critical, however, that any such process be carried out with integrity and appropriate oversight. Based on what we know at this stage, we do not believe that this was true of the process that led to Boston Private’s agreement to be acquired by SVB Financial Group, at a price that substantially undervalues the company.”
Ghei and Zaitzeff added that they were hesitant to trust the board that they said was responsible for “Boston Private’s persistent underperformance with charting the best possible course forward for shareholders.” They requested that Boston Private provide shareholders with information to assess the integrity of the process that led to SVB’s pending acquisition.
“If it turns out that the board ran a flawed process, resulting in an unsatisfactory outcome for shareholders, then the board does not deserve to continue being stewards of the shareholders’ interests,” Ghei and Zaitzeff said.
In addition to Ghei and Zaitzeff, HoldCo also said it would nominate Jeita L. Deng, associate dean and chief financial officer of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government; Merrie S. Frankel, president of Minerva Realty Consultants LLC; and Laurie M. Shahon, president of Wilton Capital Group.
HoldCo said it would withdraw Ghei’s or Zaitzeff’s nominations, if necessary, to avoid HoldCo being deemed as having control of Boston Private.
Boston Private did not respond to a request for comment before publication time.
