Glass Lewis Recommends AIM ImmunoTech Shareholders Vote “FOR” Company Nominees Nancy K. Bryan, Thomas K. Equels and Dr. William M. Mitchell
December 10 2024 - 9:20AM
Business Wire
Both Leading Independent Proxy Advisory Firms –
ISS and Glass Lewis – Conclude That Activist Group’s Plan Lacks
Detail and Does Not Justify Control of the Board
ISS and Glass Lewis Both Recommend Against the
Election of Activist Group Nominees Todd A. Deutsch and Robert L.
Chioini, with Glass Lewis Also Recommending Against the Election of
Paul W. Sweeney
Company Urges Shareholders to Safeguard AIM by
Voting “FOR” ALL Four of the Board’s Incumbent Candidates on the
WHITE Universal Proxy Card and
Discarding Any Proxy Materials Received from the Activist Group
AIM ImmunoTech Inc. (NYSE American: AIM) (“AIM” or the
“Company”) today announced that independent proxy advisory firm
Glass, Lewis & Co., LLC (“Glass Lewis”) has recommended that
shareholders vote “FOR” Company nominees Nancy K. Bryan, Thomas K.
Equels and Dr. William M. Mitchell at the upcoming 2024 Annual
Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”), presently scheduled
for December 17, 2024.
In reaching its recommendation against giving the activist
investors’ (the “Activist Group”) nominees control of the AIM Board
of Directors (the “Board”), Glass Lewis noted the following: 1
- “…the [Activist Group’s] presented plan lacks substantive
detail. For instance, it does not provide for a particular clinical
strategy and relies on a full review of Ampligen's indications to
define such strategy, lacks a clear view on the Company's
management going forward, and does not indicate the less dilutive
and less expensive financing options that may be available to the
Company.”
- “… we do not believe the Dissident Group presented a fully
qualified board slate of candidates to justify shareholder support
of all four nominees.”
Glass Lewis also pointed out Activist Group nominee Robert L.
Chioini’s poor track record:
- “We believe the board raised valid concerns regarding Mr.
Chioini’s record at Rockwell Medical, including failing to execute
the go-to-market strategy for its product. As discussed in
our proxy paper for Rockwell Medical’s meeting held on June 01,
2017 (i.e., approximately one year prior to Mr. Chioini's
termination), the entity under his leadership has failed to deliver
on promises of a strong sales stream, despite the multi-year
presence of two marketable products, and was underperforming
relative to its peers in terms of TSRs.”
Dr. William M. Mitchell, Chairman of the Board, stated:
“We appreciate Glass Lewis’s support for the election of three
of our nominees, Nancy K. Bryan, Thomas K. Equels and myself. Two
leading independent proxy advisory firms have now recommended
against giving the Activist Group control of AIM’s Board, citing
the clear lack of detail in their plan for AIM and concerns with
the backgrounds of their nominees. While we are grateful for this
support, we disagree with Glass Lewis’s conclusion regarding AIM
director Stewart Appelrouth. We firmly believe Mr. Appelrouth
brings financial and regulatory expertise that is critical to AIM’s
success as we work to position the Company for upcoming clinical
milestones. We encourage investors to vote for all four of our
directors and help us maintain our momentum to deliver value for
patients and shareholders.”
AIM encourages shareholders to vote “FOR” ALL four of the
Board’s incumbent candidates – Stewart L. Appelrouth,
Nancy K. Bryan, Thomas K. Equels and Dr. William
M. Mitchell – in connection with the Annual Meeting, on the
WHITE universal proxy card.
For more information on how to vote, visit:
www.SafeguardAIM.com.
***
About AIM ImmunoTech Inc.
AIM ImmunoTech Inc. is an immuno-pharma company focused on the
research and development of therapeutics to treat multiple types of
cancers, immune disorders and viral diseases, including COVID-19.
The Company’s lead product is a first-in-class investigational drug
called Ampligen® (rintatolimod), a dsRNA and highly selective TLR3
agonist immuno-modulator with broad spectrum activity in clinical
trials for globally important cancers, viral diseases and disorders
of the immune system.
For more information, please visit aimimmuno.com and connect
with the Company on X, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
(the “PSLRA”). Words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “plan,”
“anticipate,” “continue,” “believe,” “potential,” “upcoming” and
other variations thereon and similar expressions (as well as other
words or expressions referencing future events or circumstances)
are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Many of these
forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and
uncertainties. Data, pre-clinical success and clinical success seen
to date does not guarantee that Ampligen will be approved as a
treatment or therapy for any diseases or conditions. The Company
urges investors to consider specifically the various risk factors
identified in its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, and any
risk factors or cautionary statements included in any subsequent
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Current Report on Form 8-K, filed
with the SEC. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date
of this press release. Among other things, for those statements,
the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for
forward-looking statements contained in the PSLRA. The Company does
not undertake to update any of these forward-looking statements to
reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date
hereof.
Important Additional Information
The Company, its directors and executive officers, Peter W.
Rodino, III and Robert Dickey, IV, are deemed to be “participants”
(as defined in Section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended) in the solicitation of proxies from the Company’s
stockholders in connection with the Annual Meeting. The Company
filed its definitive proxy statement (the “Definitive Proxy
Statement”) and a WHITE universal proxy card with the SEC on
November 4, 2024 in connection with such solicitation of proxies
from the Company’s stockholders. STOCKHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY ARE
STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO READ SUCH DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT,
ACCOMPANYING WHITE UNIVERSAL PROXY CARD AND ALL OTHER DOCUMENTS
FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY AS THEY CONTAIN
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE ANNUAL MEETING. The Definitive
Proxy Statement contains information regarding the identity of the
participants, and their direct and indirect interests, by security
holdings or otherwise, in the Company’s securities and can be found
in the section titled “Principal Stockholders” of the Definitive
Proxy Statement and available here. Information regarding
subsequent changes to their holdings of the Company’s securities
can be found in the SEC filings on Forms 3, 4, and 5, which are
available on the Company’s website available here or through the
SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Stockholders will be able to obtain
the Definitive Proxy Statement, any amendments or supplements
thereto and other documents filed by the Company with the SEC at no
charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Copies will also be
available at no charge at the Company’s website at
https://aimimmuno.com/sec-filings/.
____________________ 1 Permission to quote Glass Lewis was
neither sought nor obtained. Emphasis added.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241210922287/en/
Investor Contact: JTC Team, LLC Jenene Thomas
908-824-0775 AIM@jtcir.com Media Contact: Longacre Square
Partners Joe Germani / Miller Winston AIM@longacresquare.com
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