NEW YORK, Jan. 6, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arcadia Capital Advisors, LLC ("Arcadia"), a shareholder of Zoran Corporation, ("Zoran", or the "Company"), and its managing director, Richard S. Rofe ("Rofe") have released a letter urging Company management ( "Management") and Board of Directors ( "Board") to take specific action to increase shareholder value.
"In light of the consent solicitation from Ramius, LLC ("Ramius"), we want to make sure Management does not take any action that would erode shareholder value. We hope the Company will agree to protect its cash and not use it for another acquisition, especially after coming off the large Microtune Inc. purchase where they spent $85 million, which was just recently closed in the fourth quarter," stated Rofe.
Arcadia suggested in the letter that aggressive cost reduction will be a good first step for Management to quickly bring the business back to profitability.
"The cost structure is not in line with their revenues, and the market value reflects that. With $5.70 per share in pro forma cash, the Company is undervalued at these price levels," Mr. Rofe commented. "Zoran's digital still camera and printer business appear strong, but the performance in DVD and digital TV segments seems to be lagging. To better understand this dynamic, we ask the Company to disclose more informative financial metrics around these product categories."
"We would like the Board to focus on optimizing and streamlining their current business, even if that means eliminating nonperforming product lines which have historically been important," Mr. Rofe continued.
Mr. Rofe concluded, "There is tremendous value here, and we are confident these steps will unlock that value, which will benefit all shareholders. However, it might take a reshaping of the Board before real change can be implemented."
Click the attached link for the letter: https://irm.ipreo.com/OpenFileLink.aspx?ID1=ce0acc35562a487f83b2803ee860c1a8&ID2=72681256
About Arcadia Capital Advisors
Arcadia Capital Advisors is a private investment firm based in New York that employs a value-oriented investment philosophy in the management of long/short hedge funds focused on small and micro-cap companies. The firm is led by Richard Rofe and is sponsored by M.D. Sass-Macquarie Financial Strategies.