Rubicon Technology Inc of Bensenville, IL, USA (which makes monocrystalline sapphire substrates and products for the LED, semiconductor and optical industries) has confirmed that investment firm Paragon Technologies Inc of Easton, PA, USA, which owns 30,000 (about 0.1%) of the outstanding shares of Rubicon, has submitted notice to nominate two candidates, Hesham M. Gad and Jack H. Jacobs, to stand for election to Rubicon's board of directors at the 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
"Rubicon is open to constructive input from all stockholders and has been engaged in an ongoing dialogue with Paragon," says Rubicon's CEO Bill Weissman. "Our board of directors and management team respect the rights of stockholders to nominate director candidates, but we are disappointed that Paragon has chosen to proceed in this manner. The Nominating and Governance Committee interviewed and thoroughly vetted Paragon's proposed director candidates and indicated our willingness to appoint Mr Jacobs to the Rubicon board to avoid a costly proxy contest. Unfortunately, Paragon rejected our constructive offer and instead demanded the appointment of both of its nominees," he adds.
"The board noted as part of its vetting process that, in addition to serving as chairman and CEO of a Paragon portfolio company subject to an involuntary bankruptcy proceeding, Mr Gad previously pleaded guilty to theft from a prior employer and was separately charged with making false statements to a government authority. We believe that these factors, among others, render him unfit to serve on the Rubicon board," continues Weissman.
Rubicon's board will present its recommendations with respect to the election of directors in its proxy statement, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at a later date. The date of the 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders has not yet been announced, and stockholders are not required to take any action at this time.
