Sieve Capital Calls for Board Changes at Americold
Sieve Capital, a shareholder of Americold Realty Trust, announced that it is "reluctantly" initiating a public campaign focused on Chairman Mark Patterson and his boardroom allies. The firm said, "Last week, in a private letter that the Board of Directors has not acknowledged, Sieve detailed its serious concerns pertaining to Mr. Patterson's documented history of apparently problematic boardroom behavior and poor strategic decisions at Paramount Group, Digital Realty and Americold. In the correspondence, Sieve specifically asked the Board to strip Mr. Patterson of his Chairman position and not nominate him for re-election at Americold's upcoming Annual Meeting of Shareholders. If shareholders take the time to review publicly available information pertaining to Mr. Patterson's history as a fiduciary, we believe they will conclude there is no basis or justification for him remaining involved with Americold. We are particularly concerned with allegations pertaining to Mr. Patterson's tenure at Paramount Group, where he once received less than a majority of votes cast by shareholders at an annual meeting before being unilaterally re-added to the board of directors by seemingly friendly leadership. In addition, according to public reports, the Securities and Exchange Commission is currently investigating financial dealings between Mr. Patterson and his reported ally and former Paramount Group CEO, Albert Behler. Given that Americold's Board currently includes other Patterson allies, including Digital Realty CEO Andy Power, we are concerned that Mr. Patterson has imported poor governance practices into the Company's boardroom. It is equally important to stress that Americold has already suffered unacceptable total shareholder returns of approximately -50% during Mr. Patterson's chairmanship. Additionally, Sieve announced today that it is calling on the Board to pivot from assessing '[p]otential asset sales and joint ventures' to reviewing all strategic alternatives. In our view, Mr. Patterson has driven the Board to focus on short-sighted transactions that would entrench him and his allies. However, we believe sophisticated shareholders should be well aware that joint ventures are double-edged swords that can drain companies of cash flow and limit their long-term optionality. Based on public reports about parties wanting to acquire all of Americold or the entirety of the Company's international operations we do not understand how a majority of the Board could oppose publicly announcing a comprehensive review of all strategic alternatives."
