Boston, MA 06/19/2014 (wallstreetpr) – ValueVision Media Inc (NASDAQ:VVTV) failed to protect four of its eight board members in a hostile vote yesterday, according to Clinton Group, a hedge fund with a significant interest in the company. However, you cannot take the report to the bank yet because the company said official results of the election will be out in the next few days.
ValueVision is an unprofitable multichannel electronic retailer. The fact that the company is unprofitable makes its shareholders uncomfortable, and the latest shareholder meeting was called to address some of the issues facing the company. Clinton Group, which is pressing hard for a leadership change in the company, pushed for the meeting that it has claimed led to the ouster of at least half of the current board.
Shares of the company jumped Wednesday on the news that dissident shareholders nailed the management in a hostile vote whose main purpose is to remove the current CEO Keith Stewart.
Plotting against the CEO
Winning half of the board seats in ValueVision Media Inc (NASDAQ:VVTV) will give Clinton Group a significant say in the management of the company. However, four seats may not be enough to oust the CEO, and it remains to be seen how dissident shareholders will approach the matter after the official results are released. Clinton Group, whose president is Gregory Taxin, sought to have six seats on the board of the company.
Creating shareholder value
According to Taxin, the changes proposed on the board of ValueVision will result in gains for the shareholders who have been demanding the same for so long. However, following the vote, ValueVision maintained in a statement sent to newsrooms that it remains committed to creating value for the shareholders. As a matter of fact, the statement cited that the company has a successful track record in managing its growth and driving value for the shareholders. Never mind, it is the aspect of creating value for shareholders that has pitted the management against the shareholders who believe that enough has not been done by the incumbent team.
ValueVision Media Inc (NASDAQ:VVTV) lost $2.5 million on revenue of $640.5 million in 2013. The company appears to be struggling against bigger competitors that include QVC and HSN.
