CCI - TED B. MILLER SENDS OPEN LETTER TO CROWN CASTLE SHAREHOLDERS | Benzinga
Crown Castle's Board Has Presided Over a Decade of Underperformance and Lacks the Expertise to Turn the Company Around
Boots Capital's Nominees Bring the Critical Tower Industry Experience and Detailed Plan Necessary to Restore Crown Castle's Value for Shareholders
Time is Running Out to Cast Your Vote – Your Voice Matters No Matter How Many Shares You Own
Urges Shareholders to Vote the GOLD Proxy Card Today "FOR" Boots Capital's Four Highly Qualified Director Nominees – Ted Miller, Charles Green, David Wheeler, and Tripp Rice – and "WITHHOLD" on ALL Crown Castle Nominees
HOUSTON, May 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ted B. Miller, co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Crown Castle Inc., (NYSE:CCI) ("Crown Castle" or the "Company"), and his investment vehicle Boots Capital Management, LLC ("Boots Capital") today sent a letter to Crown Castle shareholders in connection with the Company's upcoming Annual Meeting scheduled for May 22, 2024.
The full text of the letter is below and available at www.RebootCrownCastle.com:
May 17, 2024
To fellow Crown Castle shareholders:
The last few weeks have exposed us to the candid feedback and insights of Crown Castle's largest shareholders. We heard repeatedly an overwhelmingly concern and frustration with the Company's performance, slipshod governance, and lack of strategic planning.
This feedback has further reinforced our views, which we are sharing with all shareholders and hope will inform your decision as you cast your votes on the future of the Company.
1. There is a serious need for change at Crown Castle and the Board needs skilled, active leaders to execute it. Repeatedly, we heard shareholders express frustration with Crown Castle's performance and direction.
Crown Castle's total shareholder returns have lagged for a decade-plus due to capital misallocation, a debt-fueled dividend, and execution failures. This is not in dispute, and the Company has not even tried to defend its record other than to cherry-pick an obscure ETF as a comparison point, which is not used to set compensation or as a benchmark in its annual proxy.
Since our involvement, Crown Castle has added a new CEO and has shown an openness to finally selling fiber. Those are each worthy moves. Shareholders are telling us they want Boots to help drive the necessary changes by replacing decades-old directors responsible for this quagmire and once again focusing Crown Castle on the operations of its core tower business.
Simply put, the Boots nominees bring a detailed, informed view on fiber and a plan for the tower business based on decades of experience as Crown Castle and industry founders.
2. The corporate governance at Crown Castle has totally failed shareholders.
The materials put out by Crown Castle's Board speak endlessly about its "refresh" to deflect from its long list of governance failures that are now being laid bare, which include:
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Not a single independent director on the Board – including all of the directors brought on during the "refresh" – has tower company operating experience. This is an unbelievable weakness for a board of any tower company, let alone one that has just onboarded a CEO who will need much help to rebuild Crown Castle. |
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