Delaware Court Action Allows Vermillion's Stockholder Meeting Without Further Delay

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- George Bessenyei, Gregory V. Novak and Robert S. Goggin (the "Concerned Vermillion Stockholders" or "Group") submitted on February 15, 2012 to the Corporate Secretary of Vermillion, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRML) their notice of intent to nominate two proposed directors to the Board of Directors of Vermillion for election at the Vermillion 2012 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the "Annual Meeting"). The nominees were Gregory V. Novak and Robert S. Goggin. 

The Group provided a litigation update in the form of a Letter to Stockholders today:

"Based on information the Group has discovered, on May 15, 2012, believing that defeat was imminent at the upcoming stockholder meeting that was only weeks away, the Board of Directors made a desperate attempt to disfranchise Vermillion's stockholders. They effected this plan by eliminating a contested Board seat in an emergency Board meeting.  The Board's patently false justification for taking this strange step was to 'extend the cash runway'.  However, as President and CEO Gail S. Page ("Page") and Chairman of the Board James S. Burns ("Burns") subsequently admitted, the actual cash savings from eliminating the Board seat was only $5,000 (five thousand dollars) per year.

The reality is transparent:  the miniscule savings that Page and Burns claimed was so important achieved nothing but reducing the number of seats up for reelection from two to one. It was an unprecedented and blatantly obvious move to further entrench the existing Vermillion directors in their positions. Members of the Group tried to reverse the elimination of the Board seat by filing suit in the Chancery Court in Delaware.  However, after multiple delays, the Court dismissed the case on a procedural technicality, and thus did not reach the merits regarding the legality of eliminating the Board seat.  Had the Court done so, the Concerned Vermillion Stockholders are confident that they would have prevailed…."

The full text of the letter and the court ruling will be filed with the SEC today.

THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE GROUP'S SOLICITATION OF PROXIES CONSIST OF ONLY MR. BESSENYEI, MR. NOVAK AND MR. GOGGIN (THE MEMBERS OF THE GROUP) AT THIS TIME. THE GROUP TODAY HAS FILED SOLICITING MATERIALS, INCLUDING THIS PRESS RELEASE, WITH THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ON SCHEDULE 14A PURSUANT TO RULE 14a-12 OF THE RULES AND REGULATIONS PROMULGATED UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, AS AMENDED.  STOCKHOLDERS OF VERMILLION CAN OBTAIN COPIES OF THIS FILING, AS WELL AS PRIOR FILINGS BY THE GROUP PURSUANT TO RULE 14a-12, WHICH TOGETHER CONTAIN THE REQUIRED INFORMATION UNDER SUCH RULE  REGARDING THE IDENTITY AND BACKGROUND OF THE MEMBERS OF THE GROUP, AND A DESCRIPTION OF THEIR DIRECT OR INDIRECT INTERESTS, BY SECURITY HOLDINGS AND OTHERWISE, AT NO CHARGE AT THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION'S WEBSITE AT HTTP://WWW.SEC.GOV.

SECURITY HOLDERS ARE ADVISED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND OTHER DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE SOLICITATION OF PROXIES BY MEMBERS OF THE GROUP FROM THE STOCKHOLDERS OF VERMILLION, INC. FOR USE AT ITS 2012 ANNUAL MEETING WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION, INCLUDING INFORMATION RELATING TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN SUCH PROXY SOLICITATION.  WHEN COMPLETED, A DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT AND FORM OF PROXY WILL BE MAILED TO STOCKHOLDERS OF VERMILLION, INC AND ALSO WILL BE AVAILABLE AT NO CHARGE AT THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION'S WEBSITE AT HTTP://WWW.SEC.GOV.

Stockholders please contact Okapi Partners LLC

Patrick McHugh / Geoff Sorbello
(212) 297-0720

Concerned Vermillion Stockholders

T: 561-444-8180

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Concerned Vermillion Stockholders