Activist investor Ancora Advisors gains two seats on Forward Air’s board and endorses three others. The company’s former CFO has been brought on in a consulting role.
The activist investor group seeking changes at Forward Air said the company’s recent results and guidance are “substandard” in a letter to shareholders. The group also asserts that Forward was “disingenuous” in the way it provided updates on fourth-quarter results, suggesting it was fearful of receiving other board nominations.
An open letter from activist investor Ancora Advisors says “ineffective capital allocation” and diversification into “margin- and return-dilutive service offerings” have led to inferior results for Forward Air compared to other less-than-truckload carriers.
Past Forward Air CFO Andy Clarke outlines his outlook for improving returns at his former company. He represents an activist investor group, which includes turnaround investment firm Ancora Advisors and Forward’s founder.
Former executives at Forward Air along with an activist investor have been acquiring shares since October in efforts to make changes to the management team, board and capital allocation strategy, which may include divesting “non-core assets.”
