More trouble for LSCC management ....
bizjournals.com
Cypress Semiconductor founder may be gearing up for a proxy battle
T.J. Rodgers, founder and former CEO of Cypress Semiconductor Corp., has nominated two new board members after he alleged that the company's current executive chairman knowingly entered a conflict of interest in a large acquisition.
On Wednesday, Rodgers, who is Cypress' largest individual stockholder, nominated semiconductor experts Dan McCranie and Camillo Martino to the company's board, claiming they "will better serve the Board than conflicted Executive Chairman Ray Bingham and Lead Director Eric Benhamou."
T.J. Rodgers, founder and former CEO of Cypress Semiconductor Corp., has nominated two new board members after he alleged that the company's current executive chairman knowingly entered a conflict of interest in a large acquisition.
Last month, Rodgers demanded access to the company’s records in a Delaware court, alleging Bingham's role in a competitor’s pending $1.3 billion buyout of Lattice Semiconductor Corp. amounts to “irreconcilable conflicts of interest."
Cypress has attempted to acquire Lattice multiple times in the past and Bingham is also a managing partner of Palo Alto-based private equity firm Canyon Bridge Capital Partners, Rodgers claims.
San Jose-based Cypress employs around 7,000 people and had revenue of $1.9 billion last year.
"Cypress Semiconductor faces serious conflicts of interest and ethical deficiencies," Rodgers said in an announcement on Wednesday. "I deliberately chose to nominate for the Board two highly qualified industry veterans, because this isn't about T.J. Rodgers but about focusing the attention of all Cypress stockholders on these serious issue."
Cypress and Canyon Bridge compete head-to-head to acquire semiconductor companies in a time of rapid consolidation in the semiconductor industry, Rodgers said on Wednesday.
The buyout of Lattice, which was announced last November by Bridge Capital, is funded partly by cash originating from China's central government and is one of the largest attempted by a Chinese-backed firm in the U.S. semiconductor sector, according to Reuters. |
