Glass Lewis & Co. recommends Matthews shareholders to vote FOR

Barington Capital Group, owner of approximately 2.1% of the outstanding shares of Matthews (MATW) International Corporation, announced that Glass Lewis & Co. independent proxy advisory firm, has recommended that Matthews shareholders vote on the GOLD proxy card “FOR” the election of ALL of Barington’s highly skilled director nominees – Ana Amicarella, Chan Galbato and James Mitarotonda – to the Board of Directors in connection with Matthews’ Annual Meeting of Shareholders scheduled to be held February 20. Glass Lewis joins two other leading proxy advisory firms – Institutional Shareholder Services and Egan-Jones Proxy Services – in recommending that Matthews shareholders vote on the GOLD proxy card “FOR” the election of ALL of Barington’s director nominees. Glass Lewis stated that, among other things, Matthews has “persistently deteriorated and consistently underperformed during substantially all measurement periods, including during the fullness of Mr. Bartolacci’s tenure as CEO(.)” “Aside from noting the multiple underpinning the sale of SGK, the board does not appear inclined to offer investors a substantive narrative surrounding Matthews’ current or historical valuation. The omission invites scrutiny, as available metrics generally indicate continuous erosion in Matthews’ relative positioning during Bartolacci’s tenure(.)” “In all cases, whether investors look toward the broader pool of peers or the Company’s own history, there does not appear to be any materially favorable narrative around the Company’s deteriorating valuation(.)” “… given a rather extensive raft of concerns related to the status quo and starkly limited recognition of Matthews’ medium- to long-term arc, we believe investors should readily question the effectiveness of corporate governance architecture which has facilitated continuing board tenures spanning 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 20 years(.)”