Radoff-Torok Group nominates members for TETRA Technologies' (TTI) Board
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Bradley
The Radoff-Torok Group today also issued an open letter to the Board regarding the urgent need for Board change to restore good governance and create long-term value for all TTI stockholders.
The full text of the letter is as follows:
TETRA Technologies, Inc.
24955
Attn: Board of Directors
Members of the Board,
As longtime, constructive investors who collectively own more than 4.9% of the outstanding stock of TETRA Technologies, Inc. ("TTI" or the "Company"),
Over the past five months, we have sought to work constructively with the Board to reach a mutually agreeable path forward for the Company. We have highlighted fundamental issues with director tenure, succession planning and capital allocation, which we believe are all necessary to address to ensure successful governance and management of the business. As you know, we recently offered to withdraw our privately nominated slate of director nominees in exchange for the Company's over-tenured, deeply entrenched directors – Chairman
The Board's rejection of all of our proposals – coupled with its belief that it can begin to create value despite a lengthy track record that clearly indicates otherwise – is incomprehensible and underscores the Board's troublesome desire to maintain the status quo. Notably, the Board is seemingly unconcerned that two of its directors were simultaneously unseated from another company's board by stockholders for a similar disregard for stockholders' interests, and that a third director sits on another company's board currently being accused of significant governance failures and entrenchment. The Board appears to be more concerned with preserving the seats of Messrs. Glick, Baldwin and Bates, Jr., who have served for more than 11, 11 and 13 years, respectively, than working to address the Company's obvious failures.
Accordingly, and with all stockholders' best interests in mind, we have nominated four highly qualified, independent director candidates –
TTI'S stock price has cratered under the current Board and leadership.
The numbers speak for themselves. Over the last decade, TTI's stock price has declined nearly 43%. During the same period, the Russell 2000 returned approximately 66% in value.1 (see graph)
It is clear to us that TTI's Board and management team are out of touch with the challenges facing the business and refuse to be held accountable for their underperformance. Leadership has simply refused to address TTI's myriad performance issues—including a bloated corporate overhead and unnecessarily high debt—which have been a constant drag on earnings and free cash flow. The Board should know that public market investors attribute low valuation multiples to commodity oil-field service companies, which TTI is perceived to be, and it is apparent that the Company's leadership does not have a strategy in place to address this challenge. In fact, when convenient, management will compare its poor performance to an oil-field service index, knowing all too well that the Company possesses many valuable specialty chemical assets.
TTI Board's must take action to unlock value for stockholders.
As we have recommended repeatedly, we believe the Board should immediately form a Strategy Committee of independent directors to review its portfolio of businesses, capital structure and corporate overhead. We believe a review, supported by qualified financial advisors, will reveal options to unlock value and strengthen the Company. The most obvious examples include divesting underperforming parts of the Company's Water business and evaluating funding options for the
Additionally, articulating a succession plan on an accelerated timetable and addressing major flaws with its capital allocation strategy are critical to restoring the Company's credibility with the market. Frankly, it is poor governance that a Board led by an over-tenured Chairman has allowed the Company to be run by a CEO and CFO who are each past the standard retirement age, particularly given their inability to create value for stockholders. Worse still, the Board has authorized the pursuit of large, capital-intensive projects (like the
TTI's Board only acts following stockholder pressure.
As you know, in 2021 some of us entered into an agreement with the Company, which resulted in
Our four highly qualified director candidates collectively have the relevant industry, public company board and financial expertise the Board requires, are deeply committed to overseeing the Company with stockholders' best interests in mind and would bring much-needed stockholder representation to the Board.
The direction of TTI is untenable. We believe that the Company's continued poor share price performance demonstrates that stockholders have lost confidence in the Board's ability to provide the oversight required to drive meaningful and sustainable stockholder value.
Our nominees –
Under a stronger Board committed to providing proper management oversight, assessing the business portfolio, optimizing the Company's capital structure and meaningfully reducing corporate overhead, we believe TTI will be well-positioned to deliver sustainable growth and value creation to all stockholders.
Sincerely,
Director Nominee Biographies
We believe
Mr. Bates currently serves on the Board of Directors of DMC Global Inc., a holding company which operates a portfolio of asset-light manufacturing businesses, primarily providing engineered products and services to the energy, industrial, and building products markets.- Previously,
Mr. Bates served as CEO of Argos North America Corp. ("Argos"), President and CEO and a member of the Board of Directors of GCP Applied Technologies Inc., and President of the Infrastructure Products Group, a division of CRH plc, as well as on the Board of Directors of U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. - He has also held numerous leadership positions at public companies, including Westlake Corporation ("Westlake"), Axiall Corporation, and Royal Building Products Inc.
We believe
Mr. Behrens is currently a Managing Member of Behrens Investment Group LLC, an investment firm.- He has served on the boards of directors of Oppenheimer Holdings Inc., Harte Hanks, Inc., SEACOR Marine Holdings Inc., Sidewinder Drilling LLC, Penford Corporation, Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc., Stemline Therapeutics, Inc., Continental Insurance Group, Ltd., Global Marine Systems Ltd. as well as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trailer Bridge, Inc., and Board Chairman and Managing Member of Illinois Corn Processing, LLC.
- Previously, he served as Senior Vice President of Business Development at SEACOR Holdings Inc., Portfolio Manager and Partner at Level Global Investors, L.P., Co-Founder, CEO and Portfolio Manager of B Capital Advisors, LP (formerly Behrens Rubinoff Capital Partners LP), and Senior Portfolio Manager at SAC Capital Advisors LP.
We believe
Mr. Radoff is a successful private investor after previously serving as a Portfolio Manager at Third Point LLC and a Managing Director of Lonestar Capital Management LLC.Mr. Radoff currently serves on the board of directors of Harte Hanks, Inc., Farmer Bros. Co. and Enzo Biochem, Inc.- Previously, he served on the board of directors of VAALCO Energy, Inc., a
Texas -based independent energy company, Pogo Producing Company, an oil and gas exploration, development and production company, and Support.com, Inc.
We believe
Mr. Ruben is the Founder and currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of Trove Recommerce, Inc. He was previously Executive Chair fromMay 2022 toDecember 2023 , and CEO and a director from 2012 toApril 2022 . He is also currently on the Board of Directors of Zevia PBC, where he also serves as Lead Independent Director.- Between 2002 to 2012, he served in several executive roles of increasing responsibility at Walmart Inc. ("Walmart"), a multinational retail corporation, including as Vice President of Corporate Strategy, Sustainability Officer, Vice President of Private Brand Strategy and Operations, and Vice President of Omni-Channel. During his time at Walmart,
Mr. Ruben led various transformational efforts, including overseeing global corporate strategy, launching Walmart's sustainability efforts and leading omnichannel and e-commerce efforts. - Additionally, he is currently a Senior Advisor to Boston Consulting Group, a global consulting firm, and has served as a member of the Competitive Council at Cerberus Capital Management, a private investment firm.
- He has been recognized professionally as the Sam M. Walton Entrepreneur of the Year, a Retailing Rising Star by Chain Store Age and a 40 Under 40 Business Leader.
1 Source: Bloomberg. Calculated as of market close on |
CERTAIN INFORMATION CONCERNING THE PARTICIPANTS
THE RADOFF-TOROK GROUP STRONGLY ADVISES ALL STOCKHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND OTHER PROXY MATERIALS, INCLUDING A PROXY CARD, AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. SUCH PROXY MATERIALS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT NO CHARGE ON THE SEC'S WEB SITE AT HTTP://WWW.SEC.GOV. IN ADDITION, THE PARTICIPANTS IN THIS PROXY SOLICITATION WILL PROVIDE COPIES OF THE PROXY STATEMENT WITHOUT CHARGE, WHEN AVAILABLE, UPON REQUEST. REQUESTS FOR COPIES SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO THE PARTICIPANTS' PROXY SOLICITOR.
The participants in the anticipated proxy solicitation are expected to be The Radoff Family Foundation ("Radoff Foundation"),
As of the date hereof, Radoff Foundation directly beneficially owns 550,000 shares of Common Stock,
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