Blackwells Capital LLC (“Blackwells”), a shareholder of Braemar
Hotels & Resorts Inc. (“Braemar” or the “Company”) (NYSE: BHR),
today released a letter to its fellow shareholders. The full text
of the letter can be found on the following page and at
www.NoMoreMonty.com.
Jason Aintabi, Chief Investment Officer of
Blackwells, said:
“Mr. Bennett, under the cover of conflicted and
inept boards, has squashed every public company stock that he has
ever gotten his hands on. Mr. Bennett, his father Archibald, and
their cronies, have simultaneously pulled out nearly a billion
dollars of fees across the entities they ‘manage’ on shareholders
behalfs. Mr. Bennett has a troubling history of suffocating
shareholder democracy and of fabricating tall tales to mislead
shareholders. We believe Mr. Bennett’s time is up. We believe
shareholders see through Mr. Bennett’s beguiling tactics, and
understand that Mr. Bennett is looking out only for himself and his
shady ‘Advisory Agreement’ that enables a corporate piracy that is
not found anywhere else in the public markets.”
“Despite pathetic failures in leadership and
governance, and Mr. Bennett’s bellicose behaviour against
shareholders, we are pleased that large Braemar shareholders like
CCM and Brancous LP are writing public letters voicing their
support of Blackwells’ efforts to unlock value for all
shareholders.”
Campbell Capital Management (“CCM”), a large
Braemar shareholder, recently wrote to Blackwells in support of
Blackwells’ campaign to return value to Braemar’s rightful owners.
CCM wrote: “there has been no long-term growth for anything under
Mr. Bennett’s leadership.” CCM further commented that “…we are
certain that if the structure at Braemar is not changed, there will
be little chance of unlocking true value… We have voiced our
concerns and recommended changes many times over the years, and now
is the time for a talented outfit like Blackwells…make those
changes for the good of all shareholders.” The complete CCM letter
can be found at www.nomoremonty.com.
Please vote your proxy on the WHITE
universal proxy card “FOR” each of the Blackwells nominees and the
Blackwells proposals, and “AGAINST” Braemar’s executive
compensation resolution.
If you have any questions about voting your
proxy or need replacement proxy materials, contact:
MacKenzie Partners, Inc.+1 (800)
322-2885 (toll free for
shareholders)proxy@mackenziepartners.com
Blackwells also encourages shareholders to
review Blackwells’ materials, the details of its engagement with
the Company, information about Blackwells’ nominees, and other
important information at www.NoMoreMonty.com. Shareholders are also
invited to follow Blackwells’ campaign on X at @nomoremonty and
Instagram at @no_more_monty.
June 21, 2024
Dear Fellow Braemar Shareholders,
As you may be aware, a proxy contest is taking place at Braemar
Hotels & Resorts Inc. (“Braemar” or the “Company”). This is no
ordinary election; while proxy contests occur with some frequency
in healthy public markets, they are generally campaigns about
different thoughts on strategy and on which leaders are best suited
to guide the company moving forward.
Braemar shares are down over 90%, almost in a straight line,
over a 10-year period while its current chairman, Montgomery
Bennett, through his shady ‘Advisory Agreement’ has
collected hundreds of millions of dollars in fees
from us and has seen his fee stream increase 600% over the same
period. This campaign is about a conflicted, hand-picked board that
provides cover to Monty Bennett and his father Archibald Bennett to
pillage our company in a way not seen anywhere else in the public
markets.
In fact, Montgomery has a pattern of squashing
the share prices of companies he manages: Ashford Hospitality Trust
Inc. (“Ashford Hospitality”) and Ashford Inc. are both down even
more than Braemar is. Ashford Hospitality is now a penny
stock with a total market value of less than $40 million
dollars. Ashford Inc., after having lost more than 95% of
its value, is now being taken private by Montgomery while he
deceitfully accuses Blackwells (who has no record
of turning companies into penny stocks only to take them private)
of doing so at Braemar.
The independent directors that Blackwells has nominated include
Jennifer Hill, the former CFO of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and
Betsy McCoy, the current General Counsel of The Related Group.
There is no record in the public domain of anything but positive
attributes related to the Blackwells nominees- other than the
character assassination campaign that Braemar has embarked on, to
distract from their own wretched records. We point
shareholders to the social media sites that Braemar has set up,
entitled ‘Expel Blackwells’, to see for themselves the
stupidity that Braemar is releasing in a pitiable attempt
to hornswoggle shareholders.
Beyond publicly smearing Blackwells and its nominees, Braemar
wants to chill Blackwells’ campaign in its tracks. The Company
amended its bylaws in the face of our nominations,
filed frivolous litigation against us and has been
telling shareholders it won’t count our votes.
There is no length Montgomery Bennett will not go to, to preserve
his pots of gold. For instance, at Ashford
Hospitality— where Blackwells recently ran a VOTE WITHHOLD
campaign—Monty Bennett and his sidekick, Kamal Jafarnia, were voted
out by shareholders only to be reinstated by the entrenched board
hours later. These individuals are laughing at shareholders
and have no business being fiduciaries in the public markets
whatsoever.
Braemar owns a collection of beautiful hotel assets that should
be worth a lot of money. Until shareholders stand up to the
corporate piracy taking place, we will never see that
value. It will only continue to flow into Montgomery and Archibald
Bennett’s pocketbooks.
Montgomery Bennett will say and do anything to
keep independent voices out of the boardroom and far away from his
shady Advisory Agreement. Shareholders should know
that Braemar’s current directors, and everyone who profits from the
Advisory Agreement will be held to account as soon as independent
board members are installed. Blackwells expects
that a reconstituted board will pursue the repatriation
of all monies that were improperly extracted from
Braemar, and the termination for cause of
the unconscionable arrangement that enriches the Bennet’s and their
cronies at our expense.
Please vote FOR the change that is urgently
needed at Braemar.
Our campaign materials, including letters of support from some
of Braemar’s largest shareholders, can all be viewed at
www.nomoremonty.com. Shareholders are also invited to follow
Blackwells’ campaign on X at @nomoremonty and Instagram at
@no_more_monty.
Blackwells is available to speak with any shareholder, large or
small, at any time so please feel free to reach out with questions
or comments.
Sincerely,
/s/Jason AintabiChief Investment Officer / Blackwells
About Blackwells
CapitalBlackwells is a multi-strategy alternative asset
management firm that invests in public and private markets
globally. Our public markets portfolio focuses on currencies,
equities, credit and commodities. When necessary, we engage with
public company boards to drive value for all stakeholders. Our
private markets portfolio includes investments in space, clean
energy, infrastructure, real estate and technology. Further
information is available at www.blackwellscap.com.
Contacts
StockholdersMacKenzie Partners,
Inc.Toll Free: +1 (800) 322-2885proxy@mackenziepartners.com
MediaGagnier CommunicationsDan
Gagnier & Riyaz Lalani646-569-5897blackwells@gagnierfc.com
IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Blackwells, Blackwells Onshore I LLC, Jason Aintabi, Michael
Cricenti, Jennifer M. Hill, Betsy L. McCoy and Steven J. Pully
(collectively, the “Participants”) are participants in the
solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of the Company for
the Company’s 2024 annual meeting of stockholders. On April 3,
2024, the Participants filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the “SEC”) their definitive proxy statement and
accompanying WHITE universal proxy card in connection with their
solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of the Company.
ALL STOCKHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY ARE ADVISED TO READ THE
DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT, THE ACCOMPANYING WHITE UNIVERSAL PROXY
CARD AND OTHER DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE SOLICITATION OF PROXIES BY
THE PARTICIPANTS, AS THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION, INCLUDING
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION RELATED TO THE PARTICIPANTS AND THEIR DIRECT
OR INDIRECT INTERESTS IN THE COMPANY, BY SECURITY HOLDINGS OR
OTHERWISE.
The definitive proxy statement and an accompanying WHITE
universal proxy card will be furnished to some or all of the
Company’s stockholders and are, along with other relevant
documents, available at no charge on the SEC’s website at
http://www.sec.gov/. In addition, the Participants will provide
copies of the definitive proxy statement without charge, upon
request. Requests for copies should be directed to Blackwells.
The Company’s board of directors has purported to reject as
invalid our nominations to elect each of Blackwells’ nominees and
determined that our notice is purportedly non-compliant with the
Company’s Fifth Amended and Restated Bylaws, as amended (the
“Bylaws”) and defective. On March 24, 2024, the Company brought
suit against each of the Participants, Blackwells Holding Co. LLC,
Vandewater Capital Holdings, LLC, Blackwells Asset Management LLC
and BW Coinvest Management I LLC in the United States District
Court for the Northern District of Texas (the “District Court”),
seeking injunctive relief against solicitation of proxies by
Blackwells and a declaratory judgment that Blackwells’ nomination
is invalid due to Blackwells’ alleged violations of the Bylaws,
and, as a result, Blackwells’ slate of purported nominees is
invalid and ineligible to stand for election by the Company’s
stockholders. Ultimately, Blackwells believes the Company’s claims
have no merit. On April 11, 2024, Blackwells filed a Complaint in
the District Court against the Company and the Company’s directors.
Blackwells alleges, among other things, that the Company improperly
rejected Blackwells’ nomination notice, breached the Bylaws, and
violated Section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by
issuing false and misleading statements and failing to disclose The
Dallas Express as a proxy participant. The action filed by the
Company on March 24, 2024 and the action filed by Blackwells on
April 11, 2024 have been consolidated (the “Consolidated
Litigation”). The Consolidated Litigation is currently stayed. The
outcome of the Consolidated Litigation and any related litigation
may affect our ability to deliver proxies submitted to us on the
WHITE universal proxy card.
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