H&R Block shareholder Breeden Capital urges other stakeholders to vote for new board members

By Jennifer Lanning Drey

Portland, Ore., Aug. 16 - H&R Block Inc. shareholder Breeden Capital Management, LLC, sent a letter to the company's other shareholders urging that they vote to elect the Breeden Partners LP nominees to H&R Block's board of directors at the upcoming annual meeting.

The nominees include Breeden chairman and chief executive officer Richard C. Breeden, who signed the letter.

In the seven-page letter, Breeden expanded upon his previously stated value-creation plan and reiterated his desire that the company focus on the tax preparation business and management accountability.

He added that the Breeden Partners nominees would advocate for tougher discipline on the use of capital.

Breeden's letter went on to claim that H&R Block chief executive officer Mark Ernst has sent several letters to shareholders, one of which said the Breeden Partners nominees have only offered "empty platitudes."

Breeden defended the firm's position, saying, "The company and its CEO may scoff at our belief in old-fashioned values like only promising what you can deliver, limiting investment of capital to situations where an attractive return will be realized, managing risks carefully, creating a culture of performance, respecting diverse opinions and applying strict accountability for performance.

"However, we believe these tried and true principals are particularly critical at a company with the record of H&R Block. We do not believe that CEOs get paid just to make excuses for the past and to deliver empty promises for the future. There is simply no substitute for actually growing shareholder value."

H&R Block is a provider of tax, financial, accounting and business consulting services and products based in Kansas City, Mo.

Breeden Capital, an H&R Block shareholder, is a Greenwich, Conn.-based investment fund manager.

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