Kent Lake Condemns Quanterix's Failure to Schedule Its 2025 Annual Meeting as a Tactic to Silence Shareholders
- None.
- Board accused of deliberately delaying 2025 Annual Meeting to avoid shareholder accountability
- Potential dilution of existing shareholders' voting rights through the pending Akoya merger
- Poor stock performance since 2017 IPO under current board leadership
- Concerns over board entrenchment and lack of shareholder rights
Insights
Kent Lake (6.9% stakeholder) claims Quanterix's board is deliberately delaying annual meeting to avoid accountability and push through controversial Akoya merger.
Kent Lake's accusations against Quanterix's board represent a significant escalation in shareholder activism that could profoundly impact the company's governance structure and pending Akoya merger. The investor's claim that the board is strategically delaying the annual meeting beyond the June 3, 2024 anniversary date raises serious corporate governance concerns. This delay tactic, if deliberate, would effectively shield the board from shareholder scrutiny during a critical period involving major strategic decisions.
The allegations highlight two particularly troubling governance issues: First, the potential manipulation of meeting timing to complete the Akoya merger before shareholders can voice concerns; second, the possible issuance of new shares to Akoya shareholders who might support incumbent directors over Kent Lake's alternative slate. These maneuvers, if occurring as alleged, would constitute a textbook example of entrenchment tactics designed to preserve board control at the expense of shareholder democracy.
Kent Lake's call for board declassification further underscores the fundamental governance dispute. Classified boards, where directors serve staggered terms, are increasingly viewed as outdated anti-takeover provisions that insulate underperforming management. By highlighting "abysmal returns" since the 2017 IPO, Kent Lake is establishing a performance-based argument for governance reform that will likely resonate with institutional investors who generally favor declassified board structures and robust shareholder rights.
This confrontation signals the likely beginning of a heated proxy contest where Kent Lake will nominate alternative directors, potentially forcing significant changes in corporate strategy and leadership at Quanterix.
RINCON,
"Quanterix's ongoing failure to schedule its 2025 Annual Meeting until the approaching legal deadline is consistent with the Board's pattern of limiting and disregarding shareholder input.
More than one year has already passed since Quanterix held its last Annual Meeting on June 3, 2024, yet the 2025 Annual Meeting remains unscheduled. We believe the Board of Directors (the "Board") is using delay tactics to further disenfranchise shareholders by failing to hold an annual meeting on time.
We believe that by delaying the 2025 Annual Meeting, the Board is actively avoiding shareholder accountability. This delay enables the Board to finalize controversial strategic actions, such as the Akoya merger, without facing direct shareholder feedback. We believe that the Board is also trying to delay the Annual Meeting until after closing the Akoya merger to dilute existing Quanterix shareholders' voting rights with newly issued shares to Akoya that are more likely to support the existing Board versus Kent Lake's slate of highly qualified director candidates.
These tactics are unacceptable, and we call on the Board to immediately schedule and promptly hold the 2025 Annual Meeting. Shareholders should view any further delays in holding the 2025 Annual Meeting as a deliberate effort by the Board to disenfranchise existing shareholders of their voting rights.
Further, if the Board would like to demonstrate it supports shareholder rights and accountability, we urge them to include a proposal to declassify the Board on the agenda for this upcoming meeting. Quanterix shareholders have suffered abysmal returns since the 2017 IPO under the current entrenched board, and a declassified board would be a major step towards restoring faith in Quanterix amongst the investment community."
About Kent Lake
Kent Lake Partners LP is an investment fund founded by Ben Natter in 2019 with a focus on small and mid-capitalization public equities, particularly in the healthcare space. Mr. Natter has over a decade of successful public healthcare equity investing experience.
Certain Information Concerning the Participants
Kent Lake Partners LP ("Kent Lake Partners"), together with the other Participants (as defined below), intends to file a preliminary proxy statement and an accompanying GOLD universal proxy card with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") to be used to solicit votes for, among other matters, the election of its slate of highly-qualified director nominees at the 2025 annual meeting of stockholders of Quanterix Corporation, a
KENT LAKE PARTNERS STRONGLY ADVISES ALL SHAREHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND OTHER PROXY MATERIALS, INCLUDING ITS GOLD PROXY CARD, AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. SUCH PROXY MATERIALS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT NO CHARGE ON THE SEC'S WEB SITE AT HTTP://WWW.SEC.GOV. IN ADDITION, THE PARTICIPANTS IN THIS PROXY SOLICITATION WILL PROVIDE COPIES OF THE PROXY STATEMENT WITHOUT CHARGE, WHEN AVAILABLE, UPON REQUEST. REQUESTS FOR COPIES SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO THE PARTICIPANTS' PROXY SOLICITOR.
The participants in the proxy solicitation are currently anticipated to be Kent Lake Partners, Kent Lake PR LLC ("Kent Lake PR") and Benjamin Natter (collectively, the "Kent Lake Parties"); and Alexander G. Dickinson, Bruce Felt and Hakan Sakul (the "Kent Lake Nominees" and collectively with the Kent Lake Parties, the "Participants").
As of the date hereof, Kent Lake Partners directly beneficially owned 2,688,472 shares of the Company's Common Stock,
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kent-lake-condemns-quanterixs-failure-to-schedule-its-2025-annual-meeting-as-a-tactic-to-silence-shareholders-302478206.html
SOURCE Kent Lake PR LLC