Activist investors challenging the management team at Synergy Financial Group Inc. in Cranford, N.J., have won the support of Institutional Shareholder Services for their bid to elect two representatives to Synergy's board.
PL Capital Group, which owns 9.8% of Synergy's shares, nominated the two candidates, Daniel P. Spiegel and Daniel M. Eliades, to get the $975 million-asset company to buy back more stock and improve its performance.
Institutional Shareholder Services, a 21-year-old company that provides independent research on proxy contests and corporate governance issues, said Monday that Synergy's candidates "offer more to the board in terms of industry experience and knowledge … than management's independent director nominees."
A spokesman for Synergy did not return a call for comment. Richard Lashley, one of PL Capital's two principals, said Monday in a press release that he was "pleased" with Institutional Shareholder Services' decision. The other principal is John Palmer.
Synergy's annual meeting is scheduled for April 4.
