In last trading session, the stock price of Rubicon Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:RBCN) declined more than 3% to close the day at $0.703. The red close marked a halt to the stock’s last week strong gains. Recently, the company reported that Paragon Technologies, Inc., which owns 30,000 of the outstanding shares of company, has submitted notice to propose two candidates, Jack H. Jacobs and Hesham M. Gad, to nominate for election to the Board of Directors at the Rubicon’s 2016 Annual Meeting.
The experts speak
Bill Weissman, the CEO of Rubicon, said that they are open to positive input from all shareholders and has been involved in an ongoing conversation with Paragon. The management team and Board of Directors respect the stockholders rights to propose director candidates, but they are disappointed that Paragon Technologies has chosen to move in this manner.
The Governance and Nominating Committee interviewed and comprehensively examined Paragon’s nominated director candidates and showed willingness to appoint Jacobs to the Rubicon Board in order to evade an exorbitant proxy contest. However, Paragon rejected this constructive offer and demanded the nomination of its nominees.
The highlights
The Board recorded as part of its assessment process that, along with serving as CEO and chairman of a Paragon portfolio firm depending on an involuntary bankruptcy proceeding, Gad earlier pleaded guilty to theft from a former employer and was distinctly charged with giving false statements to an official authority. These factors render him inappropriate to serve on the company’s Board.
Rubicon’s board will present recommendations pertaining to the directors’ election in its proxy statement. The date of next Annual Meeting of Stockholders has yet to be announced, and shareholders are not required to implement any action at this time. Rubicon is an advanced electronic materials provider firm specializing in monocrystalline sapphire for use in LEDs, specialty electronic devices and optical systems.
