PENX (MM)

Shareholders Challenge Hercules Board to Investigate Possible Anti-Trust Violation and Conflicts of Interests of Director John C. Hunter WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The AFL-CIO Office of Investment today asked Hercules, Inc.'s (NYSE:HPC) board of directors to initiate an investigation into a possible anti-trust violation by board member John C. Hunter, III. An anti-trust law, the Clayton Act, bars the same director from sitting on the boards of competing companies. Mr. Hunter also serves on the board of Hercules competitor Penford Corp. (NASDAQ:PENX). The Office of Investment also asked Hercules' board to investigate possible conflicts of interests regarding these two board seats. Two other shareholder representatives, the Amalgamated Bank and the Marco Consulting Group, have raised similar concerns with Hercules' board. "Letting this issue linger severely compromises Mr. Hunter's ability, and Hercules' board as a whole, to act as an effective advocate for investors," said Bill Patterson, Director of the AFL-CIO Office of Investment. "Hercules' board should act immediately to reassure investors regarding its corporate governance practices." The shareholders asked for this inquiry today, because Hercules' board has not publicly responded to a complaint filed last month with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by the Food and Allied Service Trades Department, AFL-CIO. The FTC complaint alleges that Hercules and Penford compete to sell ingredients to the paper-making industry. The shareholders are concerned that Mr. Hunter's board membership at both companies may violate Section 8 of the Act. Penford has publicly stated that it will cooperate with any investigation by the FTC. Founded in 1923, the Amalgamated Bank invests workers' retirement savings through its LongView Funds. With $9 billion in assets under management, LongView works to enhance shareholder value through corporate governance reforms at portfolio companies. Amalgamated Bank currently holds 47,188 shares in Hercules. The Marco Consulting Group is a registered investment adviser to more than 400 institutional investors who, in the aggregate, own 900,713 shares of Hercules, Inc. stock. The AFL-CIO represents 13 million working men and women who participate in the capital markets as investors through defined benefit and defined contribution plans as well as through mutual funds and individual accounts. AFL-CIO affiliate union-sponsored benefit funds have over $400 billion in assets. Union-sponsored pension funds hold an estimated 1.73 million shares in Hercules. DATASOURCE: AFL-CIO CONTACT: Cornish Hitchcock of Amalgamated Bank, +1-202-364-1050; or Greg Kinczewski of Marco Consulting Group, +1-312-612-8452; or Dieter Waizenegger of AFL-CIO Office of Investment, +1-202-637-3900 Web site: http://www.aflcio.org/

Copyright