AGM Information • Aug 28, 2020
AGM Information
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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
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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