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Imation now fully under activist investor's control

Clinton Group thanks former board members before booting them over the side

Imation's progress towards its uncertain future of big changes has taken another step forward, as an activist investor took the board chair after getting the CEO ejected from his directorship.

The Clinton Group – disgusted with Imation's downward revenue spiral and deepening losses – instituted a proxy war, which saw CEO and president Mark Lucas voted off the board by shareholders.

The Clinton Group's Joseph De Perio becomes board chairman. One of its nominees, Barry Kasoff, becomes company president, replacing Mark Lucas in that role and sitting on the board.

Former chairman William LaPerch and former independent director Tony Brausen leave the board.

De Perio, having engineered all this, thanked his victims the departing board members for their service: "On behalf of the Board and all our shareholders, I want to express our deep gratitude to Mark, Bill and Tony for their dedication and significant contributions to Imation over the years. Together with Barry as interim President, we look forward to continuing to take the necessary steps to position the Company for long-term profitable growth, and we wish Mark, Bill and Tony all the best in their future endeavors.”

"Deep gratitude" is rich, but he can afford to be magnanimous, having won the day.

Lucas stays on in a consulting role while the board searches for a new CEO. As for the immediate future, De Perio said: "The Board is working with management and our advisers to drive our transformation, and we continue to explore all potential strategic alternatives designed to maximise shareholder value. We look forward to sharing our progress with shareholders in the near term."

Think in terms of a total Imation sale, or break-up and sale of the bits. Anyone interested in a decent Nexsan storage array business should contact Imation now. Ditto its security and optical/tape media businesses. ®

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