A proxy battle between Wattles Capital Management and Circuit City heated up yesterday when the shareholders group delivered a letter to the electronics retailers board of directors calling for the ouster of Chairman and CEO Philip Schoonover.
Wattles, which owns a 6.5% stake in Circuit City, in February nominated a slate of five directors. In its most recent letter, it behooves the existing board to take seriously any acquisition offer. Circuit City’s board turned down in 2003 an offer of $8 per share and more recently in 2005 declined a per share offer of $17. Shares of Circuit City today are trading at under $5.
Circuit City has issued no public comment. Its annual shareholders meeting is scheduled for June 26.