Barington urges Matthews shareholders to vote for its board nominees

Barington Capital Group, which beneficially owns approximately 2.2% of the outstanding shares of Matthews (MATW) International Corporation, issued a statement in response to Matthews’ recently announced corporate governance changes. James Mitarotonda, Chairman and CEO of Barington Capital, said, “Matthews’ 11th hour gamesmanship is a desperate attempt by Joseph Bartolacci and the current Matthews directors to perpetuate the status quo. We believe these actions are a direct result of Barington’s efforts to drive much-needed change, and are simply too little, too late. Indeed, as recently as last month, Matthews flatly rejected our public call for the Company to declassify its staggered board of directors (the “Board”). A prime example of Matthews’ governance changes falling terribly short, in our view, is that Greg Babe, one of three insiders on the Board, has been allowed to remain a director. Despite Mr. Babe’s full-time role as Executive Vice President of Matthews’ Industrial Technologies business – and responsibility for the Company’s Battery Storage business – the Board has allowed him to manage another, unrelated company, Liquid X Printed Metals, Inc., into which Matthews invested $3.1 million that was subsequently written off in its entirety. Worse, Matthews’ so-called governance enhancements come on the same day that the Company announced a letter of intent to sell the remaining businesses of SGK Brand Solutions. The announcement of a potential transaction – before a definitive agreement has been reached and with no guarantee that it will be consummated – further reflects Matthews’ desperation heading into the upcoming annual meeting. Shareholders should not be fooled by Matthews’ last-ditch efforts to hide from its protracted failure to protect shareholder interests and manipulate a fair election of directors. It is clear to us that only by electing Barington’s independent nominees will accountability and oversight be enhanced in the boardroom and shareholder value be maximized. We strongly urge shareholders to protect the value of their investment by voting the GOLD proxy card “FOR” ALL of Barington’s highly qualified nominees, who, as directors, will help bring the board effectiveness, relevant skills and experience, accountability and track records of value creation that Matthews requires to improve corporate governance, reestablish credibility and create value for all shareholders.”