Barington Capital urges ‘new leadership’ at Matthews

Barington Capital Group and certain of its affiliates, a fundamental, value-oriented activist investor that beneficially owns approximately 2% of the outstanding common stock of Matthews (MATW) International, sent a letter to the Chairman of Matthews’ Board of Directors, Alvaro Garcia-Tunon, highlighting Barington’s belief regarding the immediate need for new leadership at the company and the steps the company must take to improve long-term value for shareholders. James Mitarotonda, Chairman and CEO of Barington Capital, said, “Barington first invested in Matthews because we believed it was significantly undervalued and had the potential to deliver substantial, above market returns for its investors. We continue to believe this remains true and that the company’s Memorialization business is an exceptionally valuable asset with substantial market share and strong, long-term customer relationships. Unfortunately, however, under the leadership of CEO Joseph Bartolacci, the company continues to meaningfully underperform and fall short of expectations. As a consultant to Matthews for the last two years, Barington has tried hard to work constructively with Mr. Bartolacci to reverse this underperformance. Despite our long track record of helping numerous companies unlock their potential, the company has not demonstrated meaningful progress on any of the initiatives we suggested to improve its long-term performance. We are patient, long-term investors, but we can no longer accept the status quo. We strongly believe new leadership at the management and Board levels is required to ensure the value potential of Matthews can be unlocked. It is for this reason that we have nominated three highly qualified directors for election to the Board at the Company’s 2025 annual meeting of shareholders.”