Sports Direct Nominates Four Directors to the Board of Iconix
June 01 2018 - 9:41AM
Business Wire
– Iconix’s Current Board has Overseen Drastic
Drops in Company’s Share Price – With the Stock Currently Trading
Below $0.70 – and an Increasingly Unsustainable Debt Load, along
with Alarming Losses of Significant Licensing Agreements –
– Sports Direct’s Four Highly-Qualified
Nominees – Ron McPherson, Howard Moher, Mark Hunter and Daniel
Dienst – Possess Extensive Operational Expertise and Industry
Experience and Will Help Reverse Trend of Underperformance and
Value Destruction at Iconix –
Sports Direct International plc (LON: SPD) (“Sports Direct”),
one of the United Kingdom's largest sports-goods retailers which
holds 9% of Iconix Brand Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ICON) ("Iconix" or
the “Company”), today announced that it has nominated four
highly-qualified individuals – Ron McPherson, Howard Moher, Mark
Hunter and Daniel Dienst – for election to the Iconix Board of
Directors (the “Board”) at the Company’s 2018 Annual Meeting. This
is in line with Sports Direct’s commitment to actively participate
in its strategic investments.
Sports Direct issued the following statement:
“As significant and long-term Iconix stockholders, we have seen
first-hand how the numerous operational and strategic decisions
initiated by the Company have resulted in severe value destruction
for its investors. The Company’s stark drop in share price
(currently trading at under $0.701), substantial debt load relative
to revenues (with more than $800 million in outstanding principal
obligations as of Q1 20182) and the loss of major direct-to-retail
licensing agreements with major retailers all demonstrate the
failures of the current Board and management.”
“Given these serious concerns, we have made a number of attempts
to engage constructively with Iconix, but this has unfortunately
led nowhere. We can no longer stand by while Iconix’s Board and
management continue along this unsustainable path. We have
nominated four highly-qualified individuals for election as
directors. These nominees have an in-depth understanding of the
operational challenges facing the Company – three of the four are
seasoned executives affiliated with Sports Direct and all four of
our nominees are veterans of the retail and brand licensing
industries. We believe that reorganizing the Board with
highly-qualified experts is a critical first step to unlocking the
Company’s latent value.”
“Our nominees are fully committed to undertaking a strategic
evaluation of the current business and opportunities that exist
with the goal of driving significant value for all stockholders and
improving governance and transparency – which the incumbent Board
has failed to do over a number of years. Iconix’s history of
underperformance and its lack of a coherent strategy to reverse
this recent unacceptable loss of stockholder value illustrates the
need for significant change at the Board level.”
Sports Direct’s nominees for Iconix’s Board of Directors
are:
- Ronald McPherson, President and
CEO of The Antigua Group, Inc., an affiliate of Sports Direct
International plc. Mr. McPherson has been an employee of Antigua
for nearly four decades as it has grown into a leading designer and
marketer of men’s, women’s and children’s lifestyle apparel and
sportswear. He has also served as a board member for the Golf
Manufacturers and Distributors Association, and for The Samaritan
Foundation/Banner Health Foundation.
- Howard Moher, CEO of SDI USA
LLC, SDI Stores USA LLC, Mountain Sports LLC and Bobs Stores USA
LLC, ultimate subsidiaries of Sports Direct International plc and
operators of the Bobs Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports retail and
web businesses. Mr. Moher took on the role of CEO after leading the
successful transaction by Sports Direct International plc to
purchase the Bobs Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports from Versa
Capital in 2017. Under his leadership, Mr. Moher is successfully
managing their restructuring and turnaround. Prior to taking on his
role as CEO, Mr. Moher worked in various capacities for Sports
Direct International plc for over a decade. He is also the Chairman
of the Board of Leisurewear International Ltd., owners of the
Minoti brand. Mr. Moher is a non-executive director of Technology
Rentals Ltd, a leading UK leaser of IT equipment to the education
sector.
- Mark Hunter, Acting CEO and CFO
of Everlast Worldwide, Inc., an affiliate of Sport Direct
International plc. Everlast is the world’s leading manufacturer,
marketer and licensor of boxing, MMA and fitness equipment. Prior
to taking on this role in 2017, Mr. Hunter served as Executive Vice
President of Finance, Supply Chain, Planning & Ecommerce at
Everlast from 2012 to 2017. Mr. Hunter is also an officer of both
SDI Holdings USA Inc. and SDI Sports Group America, Inc.,
affiliates of Sport Direct International plc.
- Daniel Dienst, founder and
managing member of D2Quared LLC and former director and CEO of
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., where he led the turnaround
of the famous brand and orchestrated its successful sale in 2015 to
Sequential Brands, Inc. for $353 million. Mr. Dienst is a Director
of Knoll, Inc. (NYSE: KNL) and Matlin & Partners Acquisition
Corporation (NASDAQ: MPACU). He was the Group CEO of Sims Metal
Management, Ltd., having founded and served as the Chairman and CEO
of Metal Management, Inc. before the company was sold to Sims for
$1.7 billion in 2008. Mr. Dienst is experienced in the financial
markets, having served as a Managing Director of Corporate and
Leveraged Finance at CIBC World Markets Corp. He also was recently
a Director of 1st Dibs, Inc., a venture-backed e-commerce business,
from 2014 to 2015.
About Sports Direct International plc:
Sports Direct is the UK's largest sporting goods retailer by
revenue, operating over 750 stores across the UK, continental
Europe and Asia. Additionally, Sports Direct operates Premium
Lifestyle and Brands divisions and owns a portfolio of over 30
globally recognized brands, including Slazenger, Everlast,
Lonsdale, Karrimor, No Fear and Kangol.
Additional Information
Sports Direct International plc, Ronald A. McPherson, Howard
Moher, Mark Hunter and Daniel W. Dienst (collectively, the
“Participants”), intend to file with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the “SEC”) a definitive proxy statement and
accompanying form of proxy card to be used in connection with the
solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of Iconix Brand
Group, Inc. (the “Company”) in connection with the Company’s 2018
annual meeting of stockholders. All stockholders of the Company are
advised to read the definitive proxy statement and other documents
related to the solicitation of proxies by the Participants when
they become available, as they will contain important information,
including additional information related to the Participants. When
completed, the definitive proxy statement and an accompanying proxy
card will be furnished to some or all of the Company’s stockholders
and will be, along with other relevant documents, available at no
charge on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov/. As of June 1,
2018, the Participants were the beneficial owners of 5,664,115
shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share, of the
Company.
_____________________1 As of market close on 5/31/18.2 Q1 2018
Iconix Brand Group Inc. earnings release,
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=62075&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2347080.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180601005548/en/
Media:US:Sloane & CompanyDan Zacchei / Joe
Germani, 212-486-9500dzacchei@sloanepr.com /
jgermani@sloanepr.comorUK:KBA PRKeith Bishop, +44 (0) 207
734 9995sd@kbapr.com
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