USA Technologies, Inc. (OTC:USAT) (“USAT” or the “Company”), a cashless payments and software services company that provides end-to-end technology solutions for the self-service retail market, today issued a statement in response to reports issued by Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) and Glass, Lewis & Co. (“Glass Lewis”) regarding the Company’s 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders scheduled to be held be held at 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time, on April 30, 2020.
USAT’s Board, its management and its business are fundamentally different from when Hudson Executive Capital (“HEC”) began its proxy contest to take control of the Board of the Company. However, HEC’s stated aim in continuing its proxy contest continues to be to “reinvigorate USAT” by changing CEO. Fintech news
The reality is that reinvigoration and change are already taking place at the Company. The Board has acted to ensure that eight of its members will have been appointed since April 2019 and the management team has made significant progress on critical strategic initiatives, driving improved results in the second quarter fiscal year 2020. Revenues were up 27.7% year-over-year and margins expanded by over 150 basis points.
Like all businesses, USAT is now faced with determining the best path forward given the ongoing economic volatility and uncertainty surrounding COVID-19. Under these conditions, the primary focus of the USAT Board has been to ensure business continuity, empower management to partner with customers and attempt to reach an agreement with HEC to settle the proxy contest.
The Board’s approach to settlement discussions has been to try to reach an agreement that minimizes expense and disruption for the Company at this critical time. It is unfortunate that both ISS and Glass Lewis failed to use their recommendations to persuade HEC that it is time to end the proxy contest it began last year and join the Board in addressing the challenges that the Company faces today.
USAT reminds shareholders that every vote is important, no matter how many or how few shares it represents. The Company urges all shareholders to use the WHITE proxy card to vote “FOR” the election of the Company’s director nominees – Donald W. Layden Jr., Lisa P. Baird, Kelly Ann Kay, Robert L. Metzger, Patricia A. Oelrich, Ellen Richey, Sunil Sabharwal, William J. Schoch, Anne M. Smalling and Ingrid S. Stafford – three of whom were nominated by HEC.