The insurgent, who manages the New York-based activist fund Steel
Partners, took five of seven board seats on the $153 million stock
market capitalization company in a proxy contest on Tuesday. The
Pompano Beach, Fla.-based company's market capitalization is roughly
half its size compared to a year ago, and its former Chief Executive has been
arrested on charges of fraud.
"We
continue to believe that Point Blank should not remain a standalone
company competing on uneven terms against much larger competitors in a
weakening market," Lichtenstein said in a statement. "Steel Partners is
committed to maximizing stockholder value by exploring all strategic
alternatives, including possible sale of all or a portion of the
Company on the most favorable terms available to Point Blank
stockholders."
Steel Partners, which has
a 9.6% Point Blank stake, offered last year to buy the company for $281
million. The company rejected the bid.
Steel
Partners, traditionally known for pushing companies to auction
themselves or find other means of improving shareholder value, is no
stranger to bidding or buying companies. The activist fund, together
with Newcastle Partners, another hybrid activist and buyout shop
manager, acquired Fox & Hound Restaurant Group in 2006. The two
funds later acquired Champps Entertainment Inc. In addition to
restaurant chains, Steel Partners focuses a large chunk of its activist
efforts on defense industry companies. In 2004, the fund unsuccessfully
bid to buy aerospace engineering systems manufacturer GenCorp. Inc. - Ron Orol
Ron Orol is a Washington-based reporter for The Deal and author of Extreme Value Hedging: How Activist Hedge Fund Managers Are Taking on the World.
Activist turned private equity investor Warren Lichtenstein is one step closer to his goal of buying body armor maker Point Blank Solutions Inc. or having it consider strategic options, including a sale.
