Shareholders elect Argo’s board nominees following Voce feud

The shareholders of Bermuda-based Argo Group have voted to elect all five of the Class III directors put forward by Argo to its board, potentially putting an end to the very public dispute with activist shareholder Voce Capital Management.

Voce, which is a 5.6 percent shareholder of Argo Group, has been very vocal in criticising the alleged corporate expenses of the Bermuda re/insurer. It had put forward a number of its own director nominees to help address the supposed situation, only to withdraw them days before Argo’s annual general meeting, where the vote took place.

Argo suggested the support for its board of directors has been “overwhelming”, and that Voce’s nominees and proposals had lacked shareholder support prior to their withdrawal.

“We appreciate the strong support from our shareholders,” said Gary Woods, chairman of the board. “The board and management value the conversations we have had with our shareholders in recent months regarding our strategy, governance, and plans for continuing to create shareholder value. We deeply value their perspectives, and we plan to maintain an active and productive dialogue with our shareholders as we continue to integrate their feedback and execute on our strategy.”

Argo added that on May 20, Sedgwick Browne, Argo’s Class III director targeted for removal by Voce, had received support from shareholders holding over 80 percent of the submitted proxies.

Furthermore, almost 80 percent of the submitted proxies had voted against the removal of Woods and more than 80 percent of the submitted proxies had voted against the removal of the other directors targeted by Voce.

“We will work with our shareholders to fully understand the concerns that influenced the vote regarding the compensation of our executive officers and are committed to taking the necessary actions to address those concerns,” added Woods. “Our board will carefully consider these results, as well as future shareholder input, in determining executive compensation going forward. We thank our shareholders for their continued feedback and support.”