PR Newswire
NEW YORK, May 1, 2014
NEW YORK, May 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Morgans Hotel Group Co. (NASDAQ: MHGC) ("Morgans" or the "Company"), the New York-based hospitality management company, today announced that leading proxy voting advisory and corporate governance services firm Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. ("ISS") has issued a report advising Morgans' stockholders to vote the WHITE proxy card "FOR" seven of Morgans' nine director nominees and withhold on director nominees Michael Olshan and Andrea Olshan. ISS also recommends that stockholders do not vote for any of the seven nominees set forth by Kerrisdale Capital Management. The Company's 2014 Annual Meeting of Stockholders will be held on May 14, 2014.
Jason T. Kalisman, Morgans' Chairman of the Board, commented, "We are gratified that ISS recognizes the critical importance of continuing the current Board's ongoing turnaround efforts. We are also pleased that ISS has recognized that Kerrisdale's slate lacks any hotel operating experience and has not made a compelling case for change at the board level. Morgans' Board remains focused, as it has been always, on further improving our financial position and operating performance and exploring all avenues that we believe will maximize value for stockholders."
In its report, ISS stated:
Morgans urges stockholders to support the Company's director nominees by immediately completing and returning their WHITE proxy card or by submitting proxies by telephone or through the Internet. If you require any assistance in voting your shares, please contact our proxy solicitor, Okapi Partners, toll free at (877) 796-5274. For information about Morgans' 2014 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, please visit http://www.ProtectValueatMorgans.com.
On April 23, 2014, the Company made available its investor presentation, which included a statement referencing its belief that Kerrisdale had entered into an undisclosed compensation arrangement with Andrew Broad, a Kerrisdale director nominee, for a success fee related to the sale of certain Morgans' hotel properties with respect to certain transactions. In a filing made by Kerrisdale later that same day in response to our presentation, Kerrisdale disclosed for the first time that it had entered into a compensation agreement with Mr. Broad, in addition to Messrs. Brecker, Carr and Wells, pursuant to which Mr. Broad similarly received $50,000 in cash in connection with his nomination. Kerrisdale did not disclose when it had entered into that agreement, and we are unaware of when Mr. Broad received such compensation. While our prior statement was made based on our belief that Kerrisdale entered into an undisclosed success-fee arrangement with Mr. Broad, we have not seen such a success fee agreement and, therefore, we withdraw our prior statement.
About Morgans Hotel Group
Morgans Hotel Group Co. (NASDAQ: MHGC) is widely credited as the creator of the first "boutique" hotel and a continuing leader of the hotel industry's boutique sector. Morgans Hotel Group operates Delano in South Beach, Mondrian in Los Angeles, New York and South Beach, Hudson in New York, Morgans and Royalton in New York, Clift in San Francisco, Shore Club in South Beach and Sanderson and St Martins Lane in London. Morgans Hotel Group has ownership interests or owns several of these hotels. Morgans Hotel Group has other hotels in various stages of development to be operated under management or franchise agreements. These include Delano properties in Las Vegas, Nevada and Moscow, Russia; Mondrian properties in London, England, and Doha, Qatar; and a Morgans Original in Istanbul, Turkey. Morgans Hotel Group also owns a 90% controlling interest in The Light Group, a leading lifestyle food and beverage company. For more information please visit www.morganshotelgroup.com.
Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
This press release may contain certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, the operating performance of our investments and financing needs. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "potential, " "intend," "expect," "endeavor," "seek," "anticipate," "estimate," "overestimate," "underestimate," "believe," "could," "project," "predict, " "continue" or other similar words or expressions. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views about future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and changes in circumstances that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. Important risks and factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to economic, business, competitive market and regulatory conditions such as: a sustained downturn in economic and market conditions, both in the U.S. and internationally, particularly as it impacts demand for travel, hotels, dining and entertainment; the Company's levels of debt, its ability to refinance its current outstanding debt, repay outstanding debt or make payments on guaranties as they may become due, general volatility of the capital markets and the Company's ability to access the capital markets and the ability of our joint ventures to do the foregoing; the impact of financial and other covenants in the Company's loan agreements and other debt instruments that limit the Company's ability to borrow and restrict its operations; the Company's history of losses; the Company's ability to compete in the "boutique" or "lifestyle" hotel segments of the hospitality industry and changes in the competitive environment in the Company's industry and the markets where it invests; the Company's ability to protect the value of its name, image and brands and its intellectual property; risks related to natural disasters, terrorist attacks, the threat of terrorist attacks and similar disasters; risks related to the Company's international operations, such as global economic conditions, political or economic instability, compliance with foreign regulations and satisfaction of international business and workplace requirements; the Company's ability to timely fund the renovations and capital improvements necessary to sustain the quality of the properties of Morgans Hotel Group and associated brands; risks associated with the acquisition, development and integration of properties and businesses; the risks of conducting business through joint venture entities over which the Company may not have full control; the Company's ability to perform under management agreements and to resolve any disputes with owners of properties that the Company manages but does not wholly own; potential terminations of management agreements; the impact of any material litigation, claims or disputes, including labor disputes; the seasonal nature of the hospitality business and other aspects of the hospitality industry that are beyond the Company's; and other risk factors discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 13, 2014, and other documents filed by the Company with the SEC from time to time. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date hereof, based upon information known to management as of the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligations to update or revise any of its forward-looking statements even if experience or future changes show that indicated results or events will not be realized.
IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
On April 16, 2014, the Company filed a definitive proxy statement and WHITE proxy card with the SEC in connection with the solicitation of proxies for its 2014 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Stockholders are strongly advised to read the Company's 2014 proxy statement because it contains important information. Stockholders may obtain a free copy of the 2014 proxy statement and other documents that the Company files with the SEC from the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or the Company's website at www.morganshotelgroup.com.
Contacts:
Investors:
Rich Szymanski
Morgans Hotel Group
T. 212.277.4188
E. richard.szymanski@mhgc.com
Or
Bruce Goldfarb/ Chuck Garske/ Lisa Patel
Okapi Partners
T. 212.297.0720
E.info@okapipartners.com
Media:
Dan Gagnier/Nathaniel Garnick
Sard Verbinnen & Co
T. 212.687.8080
SOURCE Morgans Hotel Group Co.