Below, ZH friend LongShortTrader submits his letter to the Green Mountain (GMCR) board of directors. In it, he expresses concern over various statements that former Chairman Robert Stiller, current CEO Larry Blanford, current CFO Frances Rathke, and others have made recently. Hey: if the Dan Loebs of the world can have a daily activist pulpit, who not others who, unlike the broader lemming herd, actually do their homework?
From the 25 page grievance:
I am writing to you to express concern over various statements your former Chairman Robert Stiller, current CEO Larry Blanford, current CFO Frances Rathke, and others have made recently. I’ve been tempted to buy your stock, as it appears to be cheap, but I frankly cannot get myself to do so. Here’s why: I don’t trust you, I don’t trust your management team, and I don’t trust your reported numbers. I wanted to give GMCR a chance, but Stiller, Blanford, Rathke, and others’ recent public statements leads me to the belief that something is very wrong with your company. I fear the worst is yet to come.
See, the problem is, I don’t think it’s just me; I think the market’s reaction since last Wednesday’s earnings conference call suggests others do not trust you as well. Your stock is down, not because of short?sellers, but because market participants are collectively trying to price in a ‘dishonesty discount’.
A word of advice: If you care about the long?term value of your stock and your reputation, come clean as soon as possible. It’s better late than never.
More in the full letter (pdf [2])