Forzani Group Ltd. issued a response to a recommendation by proxy advisor
RiskMetrics Group regarding a proxy contest for the election of directors at
FGL's annual meeting on June 10, 2009. RiskMetrics recommended that shareholders
vote for six of the eight FGL nominees and one dissident nominee. This
contradicts the recommendation yesterday of another proxy advisor, Glass Lewis
& Co., which said that FGL shareholders should vote for all eight FGL
nominees.
As
previously disclosed, Glass Lewis concluded that the dissident “failed to
make a compelling case against the Company's current Board and
management.”
Forzani
said RiskMetrics, despite its recommendation, said it “recognizes the
considerable achievements made by the company, the steps taken and the
initiatives currently underway.” The report had no criticism of Henri
Drouin and Donald Gass, the two FGL nominees that RiskMetrics did not support.
“We
respectfully disagree with RiskMetrics' recommendation that shareholders should
vote for even one of the dissident nominees,” said John Forzani, Chairman
of FGL. “In our view, the dissident does not represent the interests of
all shareholders, is less qualified than either Mr. Drouin or Mr. Gass, and if
elected could have the unintended consequence of weakening the Board's ties to
our franchisees in Quebec who deliver approximately one-third of Forzani's
retail sales.”
Said Forzani,
“We invite shareholders to review our written submission to RiskMetrics,
which shows that FGL has outperformed its peers, has applied good corporate
governance practices, and has a clear and focused strategy. The Board changes
proposed by the dissident would be disruptive and unnecessary, and may
jeopardize the continued swift and effective execution of FGL's strategic
plan.”
A full text of FGL's written submission to RiskMetrics is available at www.forzanigroup.com.
The
Forzani Group Ltd. is
largest national retailer of sporting goods under the corporate and franchise
banners: Sport Chek, Coast Mountain Sports, Sport Mart, National Sports,
Athletes World, Sports Experts, Intersport, Econosports, Atmosphere, Tech
Shop/Pegasus, Nevada Bob's Golf, Hockey Experts, S3 and Fitness Source.
