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Otello Corporation ASA

AGM Information Aug 28, 2020

3704_rns_2020-08-28_ffb82ce2-7f43-4972-ade0-54576adb3984.html

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Proposal from the Nomination Committee to the Extraordinary General Meeting in Otello Corporation ASA to be held on 4 September 2020

Proposal from the Nomination Committee to the Extraordinary General Meeting in Otello Corporation ASA to be held on 4 September 2020

STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT

Se vedlagte fil for noe informasjon på norsk.

(Oslo, Norway, 28 August 2020) On 14 August 2020, Otello Corporation ASA

("Otello") announced that an extraordinary general meeting would be held on 4

September 2020 at the request Otello's largest shareholder, Sand Grove Capital

Management LLP ("Sand Grove").

Sand Grove has proposed significant changes to the board by replacing chairman

André Christiansen and board member Birgit Midtbust with two new board members

nominated by Sand Grove, Randel Freeman and Kathryn Baker. This is despite the

fact that the board, was elected just weeks ago by a significant majority at the

Company's ordinary shareholder meeting. Sand Grove also desires to switch out

all the members of the Nomination Committee even though the ordinary

shareholders meeting of 2019 elected them for two years, and the shareholders

meeting this past June de facto reaffirmed that election.

The Nomination Committee recommends that all shareholders vote against Sand

Grove's proposals (items 5,6,7, 8 and 9 on the agenda) so that the current Board

and Nomination Committee continue until the next ordinary shareholders meeting,

by using the following link you can vote online

https://investor.vps.no/gm/logOn.htm?token=56a3e5987782c44b1e26b6e2b457be0dd74341

d2&validTo=1601794800000&oppdragsId=20200814VPLEYJU0 . All votes have to be

received by September 2[nd] 2020 at 09.00 CET.  For more information about the

Nomination Committee's reasons for voting against the proposals, please see the

attached PDF file that includes Exhibits C and D which were also attached to the

notice of the extraordinary general meeting.

The Nomination Committee would like to add that Sand Grove has still not

answered the Nomination Committee's request for the contact details of the

proposed board members. As a result, the Nomination Committee has been unable to

interview the candidates, and it is unclear what vetting Sand Grove has

performed, if any, on the proposed candidates. It should be noted, however, that

a simple internet search shows that someone with the same name as the person

Sand Grove is proposing to be Chairman of Otello has been mentioned in

association with the Panama Papers

(https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/nodes/56064881). The Nomination Committee does

not know if this is the same person, and the web site makes clear that it does

not imply or suggest that people included in the site's data have broken the law

or acted improperly. However, the Nomination Committee would like to emphasize

that it is of utmost importance that Otello's board members are thoroughly

vetted prior to being proposed to the shareholders. Thorough vetting is

something the current Nomination Committee has always been committed to and has

been part of the process of nominating any new candidate to the board of

directors in Otello Corporation ASA to protect and ensure the credibility of

Otello by avoiding candidates that may have an inappropriate background. It is

not possible for the Nomination Committee to inform the shareholders what

vetting of the candidates has taken place, which is yet another reason the

Nomination urges shareholders to vote against the proposed candidates

Several days after the notice to the extraordinary general meeting was sent to

the shareholders, the Nomination Committee became aware that the reason for

switching the board members is that Sand Grove does not believe André

Christensen and Birgit Midtbust have enough relevant experience with respect to

strategic processes or enough time in order to continue on the board. In the

Nomination Committee's view, both allegations are false. Both André and Birgit

have significant experience in Otello's business areas and have dedicated

significant time to the Board for their entire tenures. In addition, Sand

Grove's position assumes that the only experience one needs on the Otello board

is the ability to sell Otello's assets or IPO one of Otello's businesses.

Rather, the Nomination Committee believes that it is critical for board members

also to have relevant industry experience, which both André and Birgit have.

Furthermore, Sand Grove does not even specify what experience their proposed

board members have that makes them better suited to be on the board of a company

made up of two complex, global technology businesses. Unlike André and Birgit,

it does not appear to the Nomination Committee that Sand Grove's proposed

candidates have any relevant tech industry experience whatsoever, and it also

seems based on the CV of Randel Freeman that he does not have any prior public

board experience in Norway or in any other jurisdiction.

In summary, the Nomination Committee does not see the need or rationale to make

any changes to the current make-up of the board or Nomination Committee just

weeks after the Company's ordinary general meeting. Sand Grove has not provided

any convincing rationale for why a minority shareholder, albeit a large one,

should take over control of the Company by controlling both the board and

Nomination Committee in order to be able to make proposals that are primarily in

Sand Grove's interest at the expense of the other shareholders that make up the

majority of the shareholders. Therefore the Nomination Committee recommends that

all shareholders vote against Sand Grove's proposals at the extra ordinary

general meeting.

Kari Stautland, Jakob Iqbal, and Nils A Foldal, Chairman of Nomination Committee

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