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March 17, 2008
Corporate Restructuring
Schulman Hires UBS To Explore Options
Appointment of investment bank follows loss of board seats to activist investor
Michael McCoy
The plastics compounding company A. Schulman has hired UBS Investment Bank to help it explore strategic alternatives to maximize stockholder value. Schulman says those alternatives could include a big acquisition or merger or a sale of the company.
"This is the latest step in the ongoing process of evaluating all alternatives available to the company to maximize stockholder value," Schulman Chief Executive Officer Joseph M. Gingo says.
Gingo, a former Goodyear Tire & Rubber executive, took Schulman's helm on Jan. 1 as the company was in a proxy fight with the activist investment firm Ramius Capital over its future. Ramius accused Schulman of not taking aggressive steps to improve profits and said it would push the firm to keep an earlier promise to consider its strategic alternatives.
On Jan. 10, Ramius won two seats on Schulman’s board of directors, one of which was to be occupied by Gingo. Schulman later expanded its board to make room for the CEO.
In addition to exploring its strategic options, the company is in the midst of a 100-day plan to return its North American operations to profitability, increase profits in Europe and Asia, reduce costs, and broaden the company’s customer base beyond automotive markets.
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