Steel Partners seeks representation on IKON board

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., Sept. 17 - IKON Office Solutions, Inc. investors led by Steel Partners II said that despite the company's unwillingness to enter into a confidentiality agreement, Steel Partners wants to help IKON explore strategic alternatives.

In a letter to IKON chairman and chief executive officer Matthew J. Espe, Steel Partners' Warren G. Lichtenstein said he believes that the company's shares continue to trade at a "significant discount to their intrinsic value." The letter was included as part of a schedule 13D filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

To unlock the value of the shares, Lichtenstein recommends a self tender or outright sale of the company, as well as the appointment of John Quicke, a Steel Partners designee, to the IKON board.

In June, Steel Partners recommended that IKON pursue a public recapitalization through a self tender for at least $850 million of its shares priced at $17.50 per share.

Steel Partners beneficially owns 12,456,300 shares, or 10.2%, of the Malvern, Pa., document management company's outstanding stock, according to the filing.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.