Strategy in TECH...
As I’ve been reporting, Samsung’s largest union, the 30,000+ member strong National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), has launched a strike against one of the largest employers in all of South Korea. This is not a common occurrence anywhere in Asia, and it is the first major strike Samsung has ever experienced.
Now, after two weeks of continuous work stoppage, Samsung management finally indicated to the union that it was interested in restarting the negotiations – a big win for union leaders.
Savant Systems, Inc. today announced that it has named Bryce Judd as its Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) for the professionally installed smart home solutions and Savant Power business units. You may recognize that name as Bryce was head of sales for Control4 from 2016-2020.
On Tuesday, I told you that Joe Kiani and Masimo Directors filed a lawsuit against Politan Capital Management and Quentin Koffey, asking the courts to force Poltian to correct what it claims are material misrepresentations in Politan’s proxy materials provided to Masimo stockholders. Late Wednesday, Politan returned fire, filing its own countersuit – but in a much more strategic way…
Several sources have reported that Parasound Vice President of Sales Larry Bennett has left the company. Bennett was one of the first people brought in when new owner David Sheriff purchased the company from retiring founder Richard Schram and has been at his side during a challenging transition period. I reached out to both Larry Bennett and CEO David Sheriff, finally connecting with Sheriff late Wednesday afternoon, to learn more about this unexpected news.
The relationship between Samsung and its largest union is rapidly deteriorating and suddenly, a strike called by the union initially more for show than impact, has turned very serious. That means that as the union progresses its tactics, the impact on production is likely to quickly reach the point that it will be felt by the company and all of its customers.
Masimo Corporation (Nasdaq: Masi) announced on Tuesday that it has filed a lawsuit in Federal Court in California against Politan Capital Management and CIO Quentin Koffey, asking the court for an injunction to force Politan “to correct material misstatements and omissions”…in its “proxy materials.” It also says it has set a new date for its 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, with a new record date, “to ensure that the vote of the Company’s stockholders is fair and fully informed.” That move is clearly in reaction to evidence uncovered by Politan of a legal but ethically questionable move called “empty voting” in an apparent attempt by an individual who is a friend of Joe Kiani to swing the vote in management’s favor – a move that Politan says would disenfranchise investors who voted.
Voxx International Corporation (Nasdaq: VOXX) reported its financial performance after markets closed on Wednesday for its Fiscal 2025 first quarter, the 90-day period that ended on May 31, 2024. The result was a mixed bag, including a shocking 18.1% decline in reported net sales, but also a bit of a counterbalance to that with news of a reduced loss due to the company’s extra effort to control and lower its cost structure.
In other Masimo Corporation (Nasdaq: MASI) news this week (other than its raging proxy war, that is), the company released its Fiscal 2024 second-quarter revenue performance, and results were quite mixed between its two major divisions – Masimo Healthcare & Masimo Non-Healthcare (aka Masimo Consumer, the Sound United business). The company doesn’t always release preliminary data, but when they do it is typically just a few top-line numbers.
But this particular preliminary report was surprising for the amazing lack of information offered on its Consumer business unit results.
Every day brings us closer to the Masimo 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders scheduled for July 25th…and virtually every day also brings us more Masimo madness. The proxy war for two seats on the Board of Directors being fought between the company management and activist investor Politan Capital Management continues to heat up. Consequently, we learn new things every week, some of which can be disturbing. This week is no exception as we discover: 1) the company publishes letters from employees that suggest they may all quit; 2) the Joint Venture Partner interested in buying a majority stake in Sound United has offered terms that specify a price range it is willing to pay; and 3) Politan has filed paperwork with the SEC that includes a letter to the Masimo Board of Directors claiming it has detected voting irregularities known as “empty voting.”
As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day and kick off our summer activities in earnest, I want to wish everyone a safe and fun 4th of July holiday! Thank you for reading Strata-gee!
