Broadwind calls WM Argyle’s campaign ‘risk to long-term shareholder value’

Broadwind filed its definitive proxy statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with its 2023 annual meeting of stockholders, which is scheduled to be held on May 23, 2023. The Company has also sent a letter to shareholders, which read in part, "Thank you for your investment in Broadwind. Over the past year, Broadwind took decisive steps to drive value creation for our shareholders. We strengthened our relationships with core wind turbine manufacturing customers and continued to expand into adjacent, high-margin non-wind industries where our innovative manufacturing and engineering capabilities, domestic production facilities, and customer-centric approach remain key areas of competitive differentiation. As an experienced publicly-traded wind tower manufacturer in the United States, Broadwind is uniquely positioned to benefit from an ongoing, multi-year investment cycle in new onshore wind capacity. We are pleased to report that after a two-year hiatus, activity within the domestic onshore wind market is accelerating entering 2023, as reflected by increased order activity from our wind customers. These dynamics, coupled with continued stability in our adjacent non-wind markets, put us on pace to achieve near record full-year revenue in 2023. We enter the year with a strong balance sheet, an expanded product line, the highest order and backlog levels in a decade, and historic policy support for wind energy that we are well positioned to leverage. The 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders on May 23, 2023 will be an important one. An activist hedge fund, WM Argyle Fund, which owns 1.0% of Broadwind’s outstanding common stock valued at approximately $700,000, is seeking to replace three of our directors -half of our independent board, including our Chairman – with a director slate of its own, effectively taking control of your company. During the past year, WM Argyle has demanded Broadwind undertake a series of high-risk, short-sighted initiatives that exhibit both a lack of commercial sophistication and a fundamentally flawed understanding of the energy transition industry. It has also proposed candidates to the board that we believe are deeply unqualified…In summary, the election of WM Argyle’s proposed slate would be highly detrimental to your best interests as a shareholder of Broadwind. The Board’s long-term strategic approach clearly positions Broadwind for success, and yielding to WM Argyle’s demands would derail Broadwind’s progress. We look forward to further presenting the facts around WM Argyle’s self-serving campaign over the coming weeks."