Second Activist Investor Throws Support Behind New Malvern Chief

By Paul Davis December 01, 2014, 5:34 p.m. EST 1 Min Read

Community banking

Stilwell Secures Board Seat at Pennsylvania Thrift

The activist investor had vowed to wage a proxy battle next year against Malvern Bancorp unless it addressed concerns about shareholder value

By Chris Cumming

October 16
Community banking

Malvern Hires Former Center Bancorp Leader as New Chief

The $578 million-asset company said in a press release Tuesday that it had hired Anthony Weagley as its president and CEO. He will have the same roles at Malverns bank.

By Paul Davis

September 23
Community banking

Malvern Enters Formal Agreement with OCC

Malvern Bancorp in Paoli, Pa., has entered into a formal written agreement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

By Colin Wilhelm

October 10
Community banking

Activist Group Backs New Malvern Chief and Company Independence — For Now

A large activist investor has given an early vote of confidence to Malvern Bancorp's new chief executive, while backing off of demands that the Paoli, Pa., company sell itself.

By Paul Davis

November 10

The new chief executive at Malvern Bancorp in Paoli, Pa., has won over another activist investor.

Stilwell Group in New York disclosed in a regulatory filing Monday that it had terminated a standstill agreement reached with the $542 million-asset company in October 2013. The group, controlled by Joseph Stilwell, said in the filing that it believed the agreement was no longer necessary after meeting with Anthony Weagley, who became CEO in September, and George Steinmetz, who was named chairman a month later.

"We believe that management and the board are now focused on maximizing shareholder value," the filing added.

The standstill agreement allowed Stilwell to place John O'Grady on Malvern's board in February. The filing noted the O'Grady will remain a director.

Stilwell Group had agreed to stop fighting Malvern's management through early 2017. The company, meanwhile, agreed to hire an investment bank and seek "reasonable alternatives" if it failed to provide an above-average return on equity in its fiscal years that end in 2015 and 2016.

Malvern is no longer being held to the performance targets, Stilwell Group said in its filing.

Ronald Anderson resigned as Malvern's CEO shortly after the standstill agreement was reached. After several months, the company hired Weagley, a former CEO at Center Bancorp in New Jersey, to replace Anderson. Within a few weeks, Steinmetz had replaced F. Claire Hughes as chairman.

Malvern's thrift unit entered into a formal written agreement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency last month, replacing a supervisory agreement already in place.

Stilwell Group is the second activist investor to back Weagley. PL Capital, which had been pressuring the company to sell itself, threw its support behind the new CEO last month.

Paul Davis