Genco Shipping & Trading Limited the largest U.S. headquartered drybulk shipowner focused on the global transportation of commodities, issued the following statement regarding George Economou’s withdrawal of the nomination of Robert Pons for election to the Genco Board of Directors.
Genco issued the following statement:
“We are pleased that George Economou has withdrawn from the proxy fight that he started. We note that to the very end, Economou continued to disseminate statements about Genco, our Board and our performance that we believe are inaccurate for the reasons set forth below. We believe Economou’s primary impact on Genco was diverting time and resources, from our continued execution of our Comprehensive Value Strategy that predates his share purchases and subsequent sales. We would like to set the record straight:
We have made no changes to our strategy since Economou invested in our company. Our Board and management team carefully reviewed and ultimately rejected Economou’s suggestions. We have continued executing the clear Comprehensive Value Strategy the Board and management team established in 2021, which has resulted in Genco capturing opportunities in today’s strong drybulk market and enabled the Company to outperform our peers and the broader market over the last one, three and five year periods demonstrates the strength of our strategy.1 We firmly believe our recent stock price appreciation is the result of the strong drybulk market and the continued application of our strategy and has nothing to do with George Economou’s ill-conceived proxy fight.
We have long been the industry leader in corporate governance,2 and we believe Economou’s claims about our Board, our Chairman and the recent appointment of Paramita Das are wrong. Our directors are highly qualified, active and engaged business leaders, all of whom we believe bring the right balance of skills and experience in areas relevant to our business. Importantly, our recent addition of Paramita Das to the Board is the result of a process that pre-dated Economou’s investment in Genco.
Key third parties rejected Economou’s and his nominee. Leading independent proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis & Co. both reviewed Genco’s Board and recent performance, as well as Economou’s public materials, and recommended that Genco shareholders vote “FOR” Genco’s director nominees and against Economou’s nominee and proposal.
We appreciate the support of all Genco shareholders as we continue taking concrete steps to deliver on our Comprehensive Value Strategy and drive long-term sustainable shareholder value”.
The Company’s Annual Meeting is scheduled to be held on May 23, 2024. Shareholders of record as of March 28, 2024, will be entitled to vote at the meeting. Even with Economou’s withdrawal of his nominee, shareholders should still get their votes in “FOR” the re-election of each of Genco’s nominees on the WHITE proxy card.