Benefitfocus Reaffirms Value-Creating Strategy
February 11 2021 - 2:31PM
Benefitfocus, Inc.
(NASDAQ: BNFT), an
industry-leading benefits technology platform that simplifies
benefits administration for employers, health plans and brokers,
today issued the following statement in response to the press
release issued by Indaba Capital Management, L.P. a debtholder and
recent shareholder of the company:
Benefitfocus is committed to
generating substantial value for shareholders and we remain open to
constructive input and suggestions that may help us achieve this
goal. While it is a general company policy not to comment on
specific shareholder interactions, members of the Benefitfocus
board of directors and senior management team have had numerous
discussions over the past two months with representatives of Indaba
Capital to better understand their ideas and suggestions and
incorporate them into the board’s decision-making process. We
attempted to reach an amicable resolution with Indaba, but have
been unable to achieve a reasonable compromise. The board has
consistently communicated its desire to engage in constructive
discussions with Indaba.
Benefitfocus is a leader in its
industry, and our board and management team are committed to
building a truly great company. Over the past year, we have taken
decisive actions to drive the company’s next phase of growth,
significantly improve performance, and navigate the unprecedented
challenges caused by COVID-19. We have also taken steps to enhance
our corporate governance, improve our financial flexibility,
bolster our balance sheet and strengthen our leadership team.
In August 2020, Benefitfocus
appointed Stephen Swad as CEO. Mr. Swad has decades of experience
and a proven track record of success. He, along with his strong
management team, has focused on delivering value to our customers
and reaccelerating growth, in addition to substantially enhancing
profitability and free cash flow. The company has also added, and
continues to add, key senior personnel under Mr. Swad to broaden
and further strengthen its team.
Benefitfocus has an active and
experienced board that is committed to advancing the best interests
of the company and all shareholders. The board comprises highly
qualified and experienced directors, a majority of whom are
independent, and all of whom bring extensive experience in areas
critical to the company’s business and operations.
As part of its ongoing efforts to
strengthen and diversify its board of directors, the company
recently announced the addition of Ms. Zeynep Young as BuildGroup’s
director designee serving on the Benefitfocus board, and, effective
following the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, Doug Dennerline
will become independent chairman of the board. The company has also
retained Egon Zehnder, a global executive search firm, to identify
additional board candidates to enhance and accelerate the company’s
strategy and further increase diversity on the board.
In addition to making substantive
changes to its composition and leadership roles, the board of
directors has approved and previously announced additional actions
to further enhance Benefitfocus’ corporate governance profile.
Among other things, the company will submit a proposal at the 2021
Annual Meeting to declassify the board, providing for the annual
election of directors.
Finally, the board and management
team regularly review the company’s strategic priorities and
opportunities to drive additional shareholder value.
About Benefitfocus Benefitfocus (NASDAQ:
BNFT) unifies the entire benefits industry through innovative
technology solutions that bring efficiency, cost savings and
simplicity to employee benefits administration. Our powerful
cloud-based software, data-driven insights and
thoughtfully designed services help employers, insurance
brokers, health plans and suppliers address the complexity of
benefits enrollment and engagement, while bringing easier access to
health, wealth and lifestyle products through a world-class
benefits experience. Our mission is simple: to improve lives
with benefits. Learn more
at www.benefitfocus.com, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Forward Looking Statements Except for
historical information, all of the statements, expectations, and
assumptions contained in this press release are forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements and other information
are based on our beliefs, as well as assumptions made by us, using
information currently available. The words “may,” “will,”
“anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “project,” “expect,” “intend,”
“plan,” “should,” “ongoing,” “continuing,” “potential,”
“opportunity,” and similar expressions, as they relate to us, are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements
reflect our current views with respect to future events and are
subject to certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Actual
results or performance might differ materially from those explicit
or implicit in the forward-looking statements. Important factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially include: our
ability to maintain our culture and recruit, integrate and retain
qualified personnel, including on our board of directors; our
ability to successfully execute strategic initiatives; our ability
to compete effectively; the need to innovate and provide useful
products and services; risks related to changing healthcare and
other applicable regulations; the immature and volatile nature of
the market for our products and services; privacy; security and
other risks associated with our business; management of growth;
risks related to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic; risks related to
activist stockholders; and the other risk factors set forth from
time to time in in the Risk Factors section, the Legal Proceedings
section, the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations section, and other sections of
our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December
31, 2019, and from time to time in our other SEC filings. Copies of
our SEC filings are available free of charge within the Investor
Relations section of the Benefitfocus website at
http://investor.benefitfocus.com/sec-filings or upon request from
our investor relations department. Benefitfocus assumes no
obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking
statements in light of new information or future events, except as
required by law.
Contacts:
Benefitfocus, Inc.843-981-8898pr@benefitfocus.com
Investor Relations:Patti Leahy843-981-8899ir@benefitfocus.com
Andrew Siegel / Amy Feng Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer
Katcher212-355-4449
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