CONCERNED STOCKHOLDERS URGE FARMER BROS. STOCKHOLDERS TO BRING RENEWED PERSPECTIVE TO THE BOARD AND REINTRODUCE FARMERS’ PROVEN
CLIENT- & EMPLOYEE-DRIVEN CULTURE
Over Past Three Years Company’s Shares Have Lost 59% of Value, Compared to 45% Rise in S&P 500
Absence of Diversity of Experience on the Board Has Impeded Alternatives and Allowed Management To Make Disastrous Choices
Significant Management Turnover, Including Three CEOs Since May, Continues to Hobble Company
LOS ANGELES, California, November 14, 2019 - Jeanne Farmer Grossman (individually and as the sole trustee of certain trusts), Thomas William Mortensen, and Jonathan Michael Waite (collectively, the “Concerned Stockholders”), who together beneficially own approximately 4.9% of the outstanding common stock of Farmer Bros. Co. (“Farmer Bros.” or the “Company”), today issued an open letter to stockholders of Farmer Bros. Co. urging them to vote the GOLD proxy card to bring needed change and experience to the Farmer Bros. Board. The full text follows.
November 14, 2019
Dear Fellow Farmer Bros Co. Stockholders,
I am writing you on behalf of a group of concerned Farmer Bros. stockholders. Together we own 4.9% of the Company’s shares. Like you, our investment has suffered as a result of poor decisions, inept management, questionable governance and a complete lack of support for the culture and client-focused strategy that made Farmer Bros. a success.
The reality is that this Board has pursued short-sighted tactics and financial engineering, seemingly designed to boost quarterly results (albeit unsuccessfully) and to enrich management and insiders at the expense of stockholders and employees.
STOCK PRICE COLLAPSE
•
Over the past three years the Company’s shares have lost 59% of their value compared to a 45% rise in the S&P 500.
•
Over the last five years the stock has fallen by 54% while the S&P 500 is up 52%.
LACK OF VISION
•
An absence of diversity of experience on the Board has impeded alternatives and has allowed management to make disastrous choices.
•
Despite the financial evidence that many mistakes have been made, the Board does not understand what it actually takes to turn the now-flailing Company around to profitability.
MANAGEMENT TURNOVER
•
Since May 2019, the company has had 3 CEOs and the Senior Vice President and General Manager, Chief Legal Counsel and Chief Operating Officer have resigned.
•
Since 2017, 2 CFOs have left the company and the Company is currently operating without one.
It is critical that at the upcoming Annual Meeting, stockholders make their voices heard by electing two new directors, Tom Mortensen and Jonathan Waite, who understand Farmer Bros. and know how to make it successful again. Once elected, they will work with the Board and new CEO Deverl Maserang to begin the process of returning Farmer Bros. to the values and principles upon which it was built.
ELECT NEW DIRECTORS!
•
We have nominated Tom Mortensen and Jonathan Waite, two new director candidates who are deeply familiar with Farmer Bros., its core values and its business.