Enters into Cooperation Agreement with Indaba Capital Management
CHARLESTON, S.C., April 04, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Benefitfocus, Inc. (NASDAQ: BNFT) (“Benefitfocus” or the “Company”), today announced that it has entered into a cooperation agreement with Indaba Capital Management, L.P. (“Indaba”), which owns approximately 11.8% of the Company’s outstanding shares, making it one of the Company’s largest common stockholders.
Under the terms of the agreement, Benefitfocus has appointed Alexander Lerner, Investment Partner at Indaba, to the Board of Directors, effective immediately, and agreed to include Mr. Lerner on its recommended slate of nominees for election at the Company's 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Mr. Lerner will serve as Co-Chair of each of the Board’s Nominating and Governance committee and Strategy and Finance committee. The agreement includes provisions regarding voting, standstill restrictions and other matters.
Separately, Director Francis J. Pelzer V has decided to retire from his position on the Board, effective immediately. The Company previously disclosed Mr. Pelzer’s intentions to step down from the Board. Following the addition of Mr. Lerner and the departure of Mr. Pelzer, the size of the Benefitfocus Board will remain at nine directors.
Independent Chair of the Benefitfocus Board, Doug Dennerline, said, “We welcome Alex to our Board and look forward to his insights and perspectives as we continue to focus on maximizing stockholder value.” Dennerline added, “We are grateful for Frank’s significant contributions as a director since 2013. We wish him well in his future endeavors.”
“Benefitfocus is a strong company with premier software solutions for benefits administration,” said Mr. Lerner. “I look forward to working closely with management, the Board committees on which I’m serving, and the full Board toward our shared goals of creating value for all Benefitfocus’ stockholders.”
Mr. Lerner is currently an Investment Partner at Indaba. Mr. Lerner joined Indaba in 2010, and following his graduation from business school in 2014, rejoined Indaba and was elected to Partner in 2016. Prior to Indaba, Mr. Lerner was an analyst in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Lazard Ltd. Mr. Lerner has an M.B.A. and B.A. from Stanford University.
About Benefitfocus
Benefitfocus (NASDAQ: BNFT) unifies the entire benefits industry through innovative technology solutions that bring efficiency, cost savings and simplicity to employee benefits administration. Our powerful cloud-based software, data-driven insights and thoughtfully designed services help employers, insurance brokers, health plans and suppliers address the complexity of benefits enrollment and engagement, while bringing easier access to health, wealth and lifestyle products through a world-class benefits experience. Our mission is simple: to improve lives with benefits.