Activist Eases Up on Malvern After Director Resignations

Activist investor Lawrence Seidman has reversed course and will support the lone Malvern Bancorp director standing for re-election.

Seidman had declared in a recent regulatory filing that he would withhold support for Malvern's slate of three directors. Seidman, who controls about 5.4% of Malvern's stock, said in that filing that he wanted the $727 million-asset company to eliminate staggered terms so all directors are elected annually.

Malvern subsequently announced that two of the directors – Claire Hughes Jr. and Robert Willson – would resign before its Feb. 17 meeting. Hughes, a former Malvern chairman, has been a director since 2001. Willson joined the board in 2014.

Seidman, in an updated regulatory filing, said on Thursday that he will support the re-election of Ralph Packard, who had not resigned. Seidman added that he was "gratified" that Hughes and Willson agreed to step down.

Seidman, like several other large investors, said in his initial filing that he supports Anthony Weagley, who became Malvern's president and chief executive in 2014. Seidman was a director at Center Bancorp, where Weagley previously served as president and CEO before the company merged with ConnectOne Bancorp. Weagley "is a highly competent banking executive who will continue to create value for the issuer's shareholders," Seidman said.