Arconic’s Director Slate Brings More Relevant Skills, Leadership Experience and Industry Expertise
Vote “FOR” the Company’s Nominees on the NEW WHITE Proxy Card
The Board of Directors of Arconic (NYSE: ARNC) today issued the below
letter to shareholders in response to the latest letter issued by
Elliott Management (“Elliott”). Additional information, including the
letter to shareholders and supplemental proxy materials, are available
at www.arconic.com/annualmeeting.
The Company urges shareholders to vote “FOR” the Company’s new slate of
five director nominees and governance proposals on the NEW WHITE proxy
card.
The full text of the letter follows:
Dear Fellow Shareholders:
The Arconic 2017 Annual Meeting of Shareholders is fast approaching, and
we are writing to ask you to vote for the slate of director candidates
nominated by the Arconic Board of Directors by using the NEW WHITE proxy
card.
Earlier this week, Elliott Management issued its latest letter in the
ongoing proxy contest, which is essentially a compilation of the same
misleading claims and unfounded allegations that have characterized its
months-long attack on Arconic’s Board and management. Elliott’s most
recent letter really boils down to a simple proposition with three
elements: Arconic has the wrong strategy, real change is needed, and
Elliott’s director nominees offer the best path to real change. Elliott
has advocated each of these three elements with disingenuous rhetoric,
but each is completely wrong.
We urge shareholders to apply their business judgment and experience in
giving Elliott’s assertions a reality check based on the facts and the
specific voting decisions that shareholders will make at Arconic’s 2017
Annual Meeting on May 25, 2017.
First Elliot Assertion: “Arconic Has The Wrong
Business Strategy”
The Board’s strategic view for Arconic is straightforward: we believe
that Arconic will maximize value for shareholders through differentiated
innovation and close strategic partnerships with our key customers.
Arconic seeks to add value in these partnerships and to get paid
appropriately for that value added. We believe this is a higher-return,
long-term industrial strategy than the more commoditized,
build-to-print strategy that Elliott, its nominees and its CEO candidate
have advocated. This type of differentiated, innovation-led strategy is
not novel – many of the best U.S. advanced manufacturing companies have
generated outstanding shareholder returns through this path. We have
concretely illustrated the implications of our strategic view by
publishing a three-year financial plan which includes double-digit
earnings growth and a substantial increase in returns on capital.
Multiple independent research analysts have noted that Arconic’s plan
sets ambitious targets.
If achieved, we believe that this plan’s value creation for shareholders
will be significant. In recruiting a world-class permanent CEO, our
primary focus will be on attracting a leader who agrees that Arconic can
create this type of substantial incremental value for shareholders over
the next few years and over the long term.
Second Elliott Assertion: “Real Change Is
Needed”
To this very misplaced assertion, we answer with the facts: real change
– dramatic, constructive, value-creating change – has been underway for
some time and will continue under your Board and its director nominees.
Your Board has taken or announced a broad range of actions to position
Arconic for success as a new standalone public company, including:
-
Intensive work pre-separation to ensure the timely and successful
launch of both Arconic and Alcoa Corp. as separate companies in
November 2016. -
Substantial refreshment of the Board itself (seven of the 11 directors
currently serving on the Board have joined within the past 16 months). -
Initiating a wide range of governance enhancements, including the
formation of a Finance Committee, focused on optimizing capital
allocation, and the adoption of proxy access. -
Streamlining our executive compensation program to align it with core
metrics (such as RONA, margin improvement and earnings growth) that
directly drive improved shareholder value.
Your Board is committed to aggressively driving constructive change that
creates shareholder value – both near- and longer-term – and has
demonstrated that it has zero interest in sitting still, “entrenching”
itself or any other Elliott-asserted clichés that fly in the face of the
reality at Arconic.
Third Elliott Assertion: “Elliott Nominees
Offer The Best Path to Real Change”
The fact is that both Arconic’s slate and Elliott’s slate consist only
of directors who are or will be new to Arconic within the past 16
months. Notwithstanding Elliott’s focus on the past, the only decision
being contested at the 2017 Annual Meeting is the vote between Arconic’s
director nominees and Elliott’s director nominees. We welcome a detailed
review by shareholders of the two slates, because we believe the Arconic
slate brings far more relevant skills, leadership experience and global
aerospace-industry expertise. Our nominees include:
-
Arconic’s Interim CEO, who previously ran a $15 billion global
commercial and military aircraft engine company, and a major Arconic
customer. -
Arconic’s Audit Committee Chair, who previously served as CFO of two
different aerospace suppliers, and who was nominated by Elliott in
2016. -
Arconic’s Cybersecurity Subcommittee Chair, an aerospace engineer and
innovation expert who serves as the Board’s cybersecurity expert. -
The former head of Boeing’s Commercial Airplanes business and, prior
to that, leader of Boeing’s Integrated Defense Systems business. -
The first female four-star general in U.S. Air Force history, who was
responsible for procurement for the U.S. Air Force and oversaw a
significant restructuring of the Air Force Materiel Command to improve
efficiency.
We believe that all of Arconic’s nominees are exceptionally
well-qualified and bring the critical skills and experience needed to
drive further constructive change at Arconic and value creation for its
shareholders.
Without the facts on its side, Elliott has resorted to its well-worn
playbook of distortions and diversions. Consider just a few examples of
how Elliott’s claims compare to the facts:
Elliott Claim | The Facts | |||||||
“[T]he Board is involved. But Elliott is committed.”
“Elliott’s focus is very much long-term oriented.” |
Arconic’s directors have |
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Elliott is engaging in “responsible” and “constructive” activism.
Elliott’s proxy contest “is a last resort, not a preferred course.” |
|
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The Board has engaged in a “determined defense for years” of its legacy governance regime. |
Arconic, and Alcoa before it, have spent years pursuing governance
Moreover, the
In any event, none of Arconic’s nominees have been on the Board |
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The “shareholder-friendly corporate governance practices” of Alcoa Corp. provide a basis to criticize Arconic’s governance. |
Alcoa Corp., which, like Arconic, launched in November 2016, is |
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Arconic is seeking to limit its next CEO’s “freedom to operate” and will “tie[] any new CEO’s hands.” |
Arconic has begun the process of selecting a world-class candidate |
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“[T]he Board had no credible succession strategy.” |
Elliott has manufactured a claim about inadequate succession
Moreover, considerable succession-planning efforts were recently |
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The Board has inappropriately “rewarded” the interim Chair with “an immediate eight-fold increase in compensation.” |
|
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Arconic should be criticized for “the returns which have been earned on [its] investments.” |
Elliott has focused on historical Alcoa Inc. returns that were |
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“[C]hange is not simply about bringing in new people.” |
The Board has brought in new directors and nominees – nine in the |
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Shareholders should not be concerned about Elliott’s ever-increasing demands at Arconic because it “hasn’t nominated any employee or affiliate” and its nominees “will receive no ongoing compensation from Elliott.” |
The Board is charged with acting on behalf of all shareholders,
While its nominees may not be on its payroll, |
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The Arconic Board has triggered a “poison put” whose “sole plausible purpose is to entrench management and the Board” despite having “the right to unilaterally amend or eliminate the provision at any time it wanted.” |
Arconic’s rabbi trust is not a poison put –
After Elliott launched its proxy contest, management identified
Moreover, Elliott’s claim that Arconic had a clear right to amend |
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Arconic engaged in “vote-buying” and “fail[ed] to make proper disclosure” of the voting commitment entered into with Oak Hill in August 2016 to “tamper with the shareholder franchise.” |
The voting commitment was not “bought” because no additional value
Elliott conveniently fails to mention that it has entered into
Most importantly, in the context of the current proxy contest, the |
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Despite Elliott’s best efforts to paint a picture of a company in
trouble and a Board in need of change, the image they have created does
not bear any semblance to the reality at Arconic. Your Board has
initiated a number of changes – both in the Company itself and in its
own composition. We have recently completed a successful separation
transaction and strong first quarter as an independent company, and a
majority of our directors are nearly brand new to the Company. Your
Board is unanimous in opposing Elliott’s campaign and believes Elliott’s
suggestions are misleading and would jeopardize the value of your
investment in Arconic.
We ask that you join us in looking to the future, and
vote
on the NEW WHITE card for the Board’s recommended nominees
,
who we believe are the most qualified candidates for election at the
2017 Annual Meeting and who will bring the right kind of change to
Arconic.
Unanimously,
The Board of Directors of Arconic Inc.
About Arconic
Arconic (NYSE: ARNC) creates breakthrough products that shape
industries. Working in close partnership with our customers, we solve
complex engineering challenges to transform the way we fly, drive, build
and power. Through the ingenuity of our people and cutting-edge advanced
manufacturing techniques, we deliver these products at a quality and
efficiency that ensure customer success and shareholder value. For more
information: www.arconic.com.
Follow @arconic: Twitter,
Instagram,
Facebook,
LinkedIn
and YouTube.
Dissemination of Company Information
Arconic intends to make future announcements regarding Company
developments and financial performance through its website at www.arconic.com.
Forward–Looking Statements
This communication contains statements that relate to future events and
expectations and as such constitute forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements include those containing such words as
“anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “forecasts,”
“guidance,” “goal,” “intends,” “may,” “outlook,” “plans,” “projects,”
“seeks,” “sees,” “should,” “targets,” “will,” “would,” or other words of
similar meaning. All statements that reflect Arconic’s expectations,
assumptions or projections about the future, other than statements of
historical fact, are forward-looking statements, including, without
limitation, forecasts relating to the growth of end markets and
potential share gains; statements and guidance regarding future
financial results or operating performance; and statements about
Arconic’s strategies, outlook, business and financial prospects.
Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and
it is possible that actual results may differ materially from those
indicated by these forward-looking statements due to a variety of risks
and uncertainties, including, but not limited to: (a) deterioration in
global economic and financial market conditions generally; (b)
unfavorable changes in the markets served by Arconic; (c) the inability
to achieve the level of revenue growth, cash generation, cost savings,
improvement in profitability and margins, fiscal discipline, or
strengthening of competitiveness and operations anticipated from
restructuring programs and productivity improvement, cash
sustainability, technology advancements, and other initiatives; (d)
changes in discount rates or investment returns on pension assets; (e)
Arconic’s inability to realize expected benefits, in each case as
planned and by targeted completion dates, from acquisitions,
divestitures, facility closures, curtailments, expansions, or joint
ventures; (f) the impact of cyber attacks and potential information
technology or data security breaches; (g) political, economic, and
regulatory risks in the countries in which Arconic operates or sells
products; (h) the outcome of contingencies, including legal proceedings,
government or regulatory investigations, and environmental remediation;
and (i) the other risk factors discussed in Arconic’s Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2016, and other reports filed with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Arconic disclaims any
obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether in
response to new information, future events or otherwise, except as
required by applicable law. Market projections are subject to the risks
discussed above and other risks in the market.
Arconic
Investor Contact
Patricia Figueroa, 212-836-2758
Patricia.Figueroa@arconic.com
or
Media Contact
Shona Sabnis, 212-836-2626
Shona.Sabnis@arconic.com