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While a number of community banks are preparing for lock horns with dissident shareholders, a bank in Indiana managed to work with an activist to avoid a nasty brouhaha.
March 25 -
ASB Bancorp in Asheville, N.C., has repurchased a block of stock from funds tied to activist investor Joseph Stilwell.
July 22 -
The Asheville, N.C., company posted a net loss after its loan-loss provision ballooned. The loss comes just months after activist investor Stilwell Group disclosed that it had started buying shares in the company.
July 31
ASB Bancorp in Asheville, N.C., is facing a potential proxy fight from New Jersey activist investor Lawrence Seidman.
Seidman sent a letter on Friday to ASB, saying that he may seek a seat on the board of the $774 million-asset holding company for Asheville Savings Bank. The decision came after Seidman's talks with Chief Executive Suzanne DeFerie ended.
"Discussions between [the two sides] regarding ways to maximize shareholder value ... terminated without a satisfactory conclusion," Seidman said in a regulatory filing. Seidman and funds that he controls "intend to exercise their rights as shareholders of the issuer, which may include, without limitation, seeking representation on [ASB's] board of directors."
Seidman, who is based in Parsippany, N.J., owned a 6% stake in ASB as of March 31. Asheville Savings Bank's employee stock-ownership plan is the company's largest shareholder, with a 10.1% stake.
ASB has previously faced trouble from activist investors. Joseph Stilwell
