Ceridian comments on Pershing Square proxy filing
MINNEAPOLIS (January 23, 2007) – Ceridian Corporation (NYSE: CEN) today commented on the proxy materials filed by Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P., to nominate eight directors to the Company’s Board of Directors at Ceridian’s next Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
Ceridian met with Pershing Square’s representatives on January 12, 2007, in an effort to open a constructive and beneficial dialogue about the Company. Following that meeting, Pershing Square sent a letter to the Ceridian Board, which inaccurately characterized a number of comments by Ceridian’s chief executive officer, Kathryn Marinello. On January 22, 2007, Ms. Marinello responded to Pershing Square, on behalf of the Company’s Board of Directors, to provide reassurance to Pershing Square and all Ceridian stockholders with respect to the concerns raised in Pershing Square’s letter. Despite these reassurances, Pershing Square has apparently chosen to proceed with a full-blown proxy contest.
The Company stated:
“The Ceridian Board of Directors is comprised of industry leaders who are committed to building shareholder value and positioning Ceridian for growth and success. The Board has confidence in the Company’s new leadership team and in Ceridian’s prospects for the future.
“We are disappointed that Pershing Square has decided to pursue a potentially costly and disruptive proxy contest, especially in light of our reassurances in response to the concerns raised by Pershing Square in its letter. A proxy contest can only serve as a distraction to the Company when attention and resources would be better used in creating value for stockholders by improving the operations and earnings of the business. We assure all of our stockholders that we remain committed, as always, to doing what is right for our stockholders, our employees, and our customers.”
The Company noted that it is reviewing Pershing Square’s filing and after appropriate consideration will respond to it in detail.
Source: Ceridian
