TMCnet News
Anworth Mortgage Asset Corporation Continues to Disappoint Stockholders and Fails to Stand behind Its Commitment to Aggressively Repurchase Shares, According to Western InvestmentNEW YORK --(Business Wire)-- Western Investment LLC ("Western Investment") today criticized the failure by the directors and management of Anworth Mortgage Asset Corporation ("Anworth") to stand behind its commitment to aggressively repurchase shares of Anworth in order to increase value for all stockholders. In an investor presentation on May 2, 2014, Anworth stated that it has taken and continues to take actions to increase shareholder value, including through its aggressive buyback program. Anworth also stated they increased their ongoing share repurchase program by 10,000,000 shares, and in fact disclosed that in April 2014 nearly 5,000,000 shares had beenrepurchased. Western Investment is concerned that Anworth has now drastically curtailed its buybacks. Not surprisingly, Anworth's stock price has experienced a recent decline, down over 5% from its 12 month high. Art Lipson, managing member of Western Investment, stated, "Western Investment is a significant stockholder in Anworth Mortgage Asset Corporation. We are disappointed in Anworth's continued poor share performance, which recently traded at nearly an 18% discount to book value. We remain concerned that Anworth's recent buyback activity was primarily undertaken because Anworth was faced with a proxy fight and now that the proxy battle is over, the board and management are less committed to taking action that is in the best interests of its stockholders." Mr. Lipson continued, "Given this Board's and management's historical failure to produce strong results and maximize stockholder value, we continue to have serious doubts concerning their commitment to reduce the discount to book value. Western Investment will continue to monitor Anworth's actions and may submit a shareholder proposal in the future to address the excessive discount to book value."
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