DALLAS, Oct. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Ashford
Hospitality Trust, Inc. (NYSE: AHT) ("Ashford Trust" or the
"Company") today announced a number of corporate governance
enhancements.
"Consistent with our commitment to manage the business in the
best interests of all of our shareholders, we have made additional
enhancements to our corporate governance policies," said
Monty J. Bennett, Ashford Trust's
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We will continue to
review our governance in an ongoing effort to increase the value of
Ashford Trust."
The following is a summary of the new governance
initiatives:
- An amendment to the Company's Bylaws requiring majority vote
for the election of directors (with a plurality vote standard
retained for contested director elections), consistent with the
proposal approved by shareholders at the Company's 2015 annual
meeting;
- An amendment to the Company's Bylaws requiring shareholder vote
to adopt a Shareholder Rights Plan with a term exceeding 12 months;
and
- Modification of the Company's Corporate Governance Guidelines
to prohibit pledging of stock by directors and all executives.
Ashford Hospitality Trust is a real estate investment trust
(REIT) focused on investing opportunistically in the hospitality
industry in upper upscale, full-service hotels.
Follow Chairman and CEO Monty
Bennett on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBennettAshford or
@MBennettAshford.
Ashford has created an Ashford App for the hospitality REIT
investor community. The Ashford App is available for free
download at Apple's App Store and
the Google Play Store by searching "Ashford."
Certain statements and assumptions in this press release
contain or are based upon "forward-looking" information and are
being made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties. When we use the words "will likely result,"
"may," "anticipate," "estimate," "should," "expect," "believe,"
"intend," or similar expressions, we intend to identify
forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to
numerous assumptions and uncertainties, many of which are outside
Ashford Trust's control.
These forward-looking statements are subject to known and
unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results
to differ materially from those anticipated, including, without
limitation: general volatility of the capital markets and the
market price of our common stock; changes in our business or
investment strategy; availability, terms and deployment of capital;
availability of qualified personnel; changes in our industry and
the market in which we operate, interest rates or the general
economy; and the degree and nature of our competition. These
and other risk factors are more fully discussed in Ashford Trust's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The forward-looking statements included in this press release
are only made as of the date of this press release. Investors
should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements. We are not obligated to publicly update or revise
any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or circumstances, changes in
expectations or otherwise.
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SOURCE Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc.