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Thursday, May 21, 2009

Quigley Corp. may have lost proxy fight

A spokesman for Quigley Corp. said Thursday afternoon that shareholders had voted in favor of a "change in control" of the Doylestown maker of Cold-Eeze lozenges.

Carl Hymans, of G.S. Schwartz & Co., which provides investor relations services for Quigley, said the results of the voting from Wednesday's annual meeting were preliminary and still needed to be certified.

If the preliminary results hold up, it would mark the start of a significant shakeup for the small health-care company that's been trying to diversify beyond its cold remedies.

In April, New York investor Ted Karkus launched a proxy fight, seeking to replace all of Quigley's current board member. He sought shareholder votes for seven board nominees, including himself. One of those nominees is a local executive, Mark Frank, president of GSW Worldwide in Newtown, Bucks County.

Karkus, who owns 4.8 percent of Quigley shares, and the company's management have sparred in a press release duel, hoping to win shareholders votes.

Quigley has not been profitable for the last three years. In 2008, the company lost $5.5 million, or 43 cents per share, on net sales of $20.5 million. As of Dec. 31, it had 86 full-time employees with most of them at its manufacturing facilities in Elizabethtown and Lebanon, both in Pennsylvania.

Shares of Quigley closed Thursday at $6.50 per share, up 25 cents. Based on that closing price, its market capitalization was only $83.9 million.
Posted by Mike Armstrong @ 7:10 PM  Permalink | File Under: Corporate Governance | | Pharma, Biotech | Post a comment
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About Mike Armstrong
Mike Armstrong, a business editor and writer for nearly two decades, is the Inquirer's business columnist and PhillyInc blog editor. Contact Mike via e-mail or at 215-854-2980
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