Maguire Asset Management Urges CTPartners to Immediately Commence Robust Sale Process

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif., March 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Maguire Asset Management, a significant shareholder of CTPartners Executive Search Inc. ("CTPartners" or the "Company") (NYSEMKT: CTP), today announced that it has delivered a letter to the Company's Board of Directors demanding the initiation of a well-orchestrated sale process and the immediate appointment of new independent board members.

The full text of the letter follows:

March 20, 2015

Members of the Board of Directors
CTPartners Executive Search Inc.
1166 Avenue of the Americas
3^rd Floor
New York, NY 10036

Dear Board Members:

Maguire Asset Management, LLC is a significant shareholder of CTPartners.  By way of a brief background, Maguire Asset Management is a value-oriented investor that seeks to take a substantial ownership position in a limited number of undervalued companies that we believe can meaningfully benefit from our active engagement.  Our approach is to work constructively with management and the board of directors to help implement strategies that can vastly increase returns for all shareholders. 

Our investment managers and affiliated operating executives have significantly enhanced value at numerous companies through a combination of corporate governance improvements, disciplined mergers and acquisitions, organizational restructurings, enhanced operational efficiencies and more effective capital allocation.  

We firmly believe CTPartners is a company that can benefit greatly from our help. 

As you know, the past several months of the Company's history has been turbulent for shareholders, who have experienced a precipitous decline in share value ranging from a high of more than $23 per share in November 2014 to a low of $4.35 per share in late January 2015.  And while the stock price has rebounded slightly (mainly supported by DHR International's $7.00 per share offer on February 4), there remains an ongoing overhang of investor skepticism and uncertainty about the Company's ability to rebound completely as a stand-alone enterprise. 

Undervaluation in the Public Market

Based on a series of poor management decisions, reported allegations of inappropriate management behavior and a number of outside factors, it is our opinion that CTPartners is significantly undervalued in the public market.  This is not something entirely unique to CTPartners, but relatively commonplace among micro-cap companies where loss of leadership credibility among investors in combination with small daily trading volumes and limited research coverage lead to ongoing undervaluation in the market.  This situation is particularly acute for CTPartners and, in our opinion, is best rectified by the addition of shareholder representatives to the board immediately (to help restore investor confidence in good corporate governance) and the genuine examination of strategic alternatives led by truly independent and experienced board members.

Significant Value to a Buyer Today

Rather than attempt to resuscitate investor confidence over the next several quarters (and perhaps years), we believe that you, as directors, will better fulfill your fiduciary duty to all shareholders by exploring a sale of the entire Company.  CTPartners has attractive prospects to a strategic buyer within a rapidly growing industry; a healthy M&A environment and clear interest from strategic buyers suggest an attractive premium could be achieved through a well-orchestrated sale process.  Based upon our detailed analysis of CTPartners and the trading value of its competitors, we believe the Company could be sold to a strategic buyer for a price between $12.00 and $16.00 per share.

Engage with DHR International as Part of a Robust Sale Process

We believe that public company directors have an obligation to seriously examine credible offers, unsolicited or otherwise.  DHR International is one of the largest retained executive search firms in the world with a solid reputation within the industry.  On February 4, DHR submitted an offer of $7.00 per share for all of the outstanding equity in the Company it does not own.  On February 24, the Company announced that the board had formed a Special Committee to review strategic alternatives, including DHR's bid.  On March 11, following what we can only presume was a lack of meaningful engagement on your behalf, DHR nominated a slate of six highly-qualified candidates for election to the board.  On the same day, the Company announced the termination of its CEO and his replacement by the Company's Vice Chairman.

In our opinion, the best way to maximize shareholder value in situations like this is to engage DHR as one of many potential bidders in a well-run auction process.  This will level the playing field between DHR and other participants and reassure shareholders that the board is indeed acting in their best interests.  We are prepared to propose several respected and highly-qualified board candidates to help oversee this process on behalf of all shareholders.

Finally, the Company has announced management will report its results for the fourth quarter of 2014 on Tuesday, March 31.  We request that you update shareholders at that time as to the depth of the "strategic alternatives" review and the process being run by the board, the directive given to Robert W. Baird - the Special Committee's financial advisor (e.g. does it include a full auction process), and the anticipated timeline to completion.

To reiterate, we believe the board and management have lost credibility with Wall Street and investors alike.  In times like this, effective stakeholder communications and full transparency and engagement are critical.  We look forward to speaking with you soon.

Sincerely,

Tim Maguire

Investor Contact
Tim Maguire, (610) 517-6058

SOURCE Maguire Asset Management, LLC