Richard Davies wrote: The UK has a good crop of technology pioneers in cloud computing - for example ElasticHosts, FlexiScale, Flexiant, OnApp - and also some strong government initiatives such as G-Cloud.
We will have to see whether this kind of technical leadership converts into swift mass-market adoption or not.
Shareholder Advocates for Value Enhancement (SAVE), a group of
shareholders of USA Technologies, Inc. unaffiliated with the Company,
announced today that they issued an open letter urging common
shareholders of USA Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: USAT) to STOP, LOOK and
LISTEN before responding to management's recent request that
shareholders grant them a proxy to vote their shares.
Brad Tirpak, one of SAVE’s members, urged shareholders to read the
letter, stating, “Our letter is intended to keep focus on the issues in
this election: the Company’s poor performance and its recent actions
reducing accountability to shareholders and entrenching management.”
The complete text of the letter to shareholders follows:
November 23, 2009
Dear Fellow Shareholders,
Shareholder Advocates for Value Enhancement (SAVE), a group of
shareholders of USA Technologies, Inc., unaffiliated with the Company,
has nominated three independent directors to the Board of USA
Technologies (NASDAQ:USAT).
Soon you will be receiving SAVE’s proxy material and BLUE proxy card and
we urge you to refrain from returning a vote to USAT until you have had
an opportunity to review our proxy materials.
SAVE believes in the promising technology of the Company and its
talented employees, but the self-interested actions of the Board
and management are draining value away from common
shareholders. Consider the following:
Since 2003 management and inside directors have rewarded themselves
with $17 million in compensation, while the stock declined more than
95%.
The same management has failed to turn a profit in 10 years.
The Board has rewarded management with total compensation in excess of
$5.9 million over fiscal 2007 and 2008 despite missing financial
performance targets in each year.
And NOW we believe the Board and management are trying to entrench
themselves and all but eliminate accountability to shareholders; the
Board in October:
Eliminated the right of shareholders to call special meetings
Staggered the Board of Directors into three classes
Stacked the board with two more hand-picked nominees of management,
without shareholder approval, and THEN
Advanced the annual meeting by more than four months reducing your
opportunity to consider these inequitable actions until it is too late.
Don’t let management strip you of your rights.
Soon you will be receiving SAVE’s proxy materials and BLUE proxy card.To have your vote counted for SAVE’s independent nominees you will
need to complete and return the BLUE proxy card. We are not seeking
control of the Board; we believe that the common shareholders need some
truly independent directors who can be advocates for their rights and
interests. You deserve the opportunity to review SAVE’s proxy materials
and decide for yourself who will best serve your interests.
SAVE strongly urges shareholders NOT
to respond to any solicitation made by USAT management and NOT
to return a white proxy card voting for the current board members.
DO NOT return the white proxy
card sent to you by the current board of USA Technologies, and
DO NOT vote by responding to the
e-mail solicitations sent to you by the current board of USA
Technologies.
DO NOT allow their proxy
solicitor to call you at home and take your vote over the telephone.
You can learn more about USA Technologies, Inc.’s performance issues,
the self-interested actions of management, and our Board candidates at www.SAVEUSAT.com.
We appreciate your support, and if you have any questions, please call
Morrow & Co., LLC. at (203) 658-9400 or toll-free at 800-662-5200.
Sincerely,
Brad M. Tirpak
Craig W. Thomas
Shareholder Advocates for Value Enhancement (SAVE)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
On November 19, 2009, Shareholder Advocates for Value Enhancement
(SAVE) filed a preliminary proxy statement on Schedule 14A for the
election of its slate of director nominees at the annual meeting of
Stockholders of USA Technologies, Inc. scheduled to be held on
December 15, 2009 (the “Annual Meeting”). Prior to the Annual Meeting,
SAVE will furnish a definitive Proxy Statement to shareholders of USA
Technologies, Inc., together with a BLUE proxy card. SHAREHOLDERS OF USA
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT CAREFULLY WHEN
AVAILABLE BECAUSE IT CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION.
The Proxy Statement and all other soliciting materials filed by SAVE
will be available at: WWW.SAVEUSAT.COM.
The Proxy Statement is available at no charge on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.
In addition, Morrow & Co. will provide copies of the Proxy Statement
without charge upon request. Requests for copies should be directed to:
Morrow & Co., LLC
Toll Free: 800-662-5200
Banks and Brokerage Firms Call Collect: 203-658-9400
SAVE, its members, Bradley Tirpak and Craig Thomas, and its Director
nominees, Bradley Tirpak, Peter Michel and Alan Gotcher (collectively,
the “Participants”) are deemed to be participants in the solicitation of
proxies with respect to SAVE’s nominees. None of the Participants has
any direct or indirect interests in the matters to be acted upon at the
Annual Meeting other than as a shareholder or a nominee for election as
a director of USA Technologies, Inc. Detailed information regarding the
names, affiliations and interests of the Participants, including
security ownership or otherwise, is available in SAVE’s preliminary
Proxy Statement filed by SAVE on November 19, 2009 with the SEC.
SAVE's Preliminary Proxy Statement and related materials are available
at www.SAVEUSAT.com.
Shareholders with questions about the solicitation are invited to call
Morrow & Co. at 800-662-5200.