Benzinga | Jan 21, 2021 07:03AM EST

Engine Capital And Hawk Ridge Issue Open Letter To Board Of Adtalem Global Education; Engine And Hawk Ridge Expressed Their Serious Concerns With The Disappointing Investor Returns At Adtalem

Engine Capital LP (together with its affiliates, "Engine") and Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP (together with its affiliates, "Hawk Ridge"), significant stockholders of Adtalem Global Education, Inc. ("Adtalem" or the "Company") (NYSE:ATGE) with an aggregate ownership of approximately 3.9% of the Company's outstanding shares, today issued an open letter to the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board").

In the letter, Engine and Hawk Ridge expressed their serious concerns with the disappointing investor returns at Adtalem, which have lagged those of its self-selected peers for years. Engine and Hawk Ridge attributed the Company's stock price underperformance to a number of reasons including (i) subpar operational performance in an otherwise favorable business climate, (ii) poor capital allocation practices, (iii) the need for operational reorganization and personnel rightsizing, (iv) an unnecessary conglomerate structure, and lastly, (v) a lack of operational and industry experience among members of the Board and management, which may be a contributing factor to each of the aforementioned issues.

The letter concludes with Engine and Hawk Ridge's outline of a series of actions readily within the control of Adtalem's senior management and the Board to address these issues and create stockholder value, referred to in the letter as the "2022 Adtalem Plan."

The full text of the letter to the Board can be viewed at the following link:

Letter to the Board

Engine and Hawk Ridge also announced the launch of www.LetsFixAdtalemTogether.com, a website dedicated to sharing their views with respect to creating value at the Company. Engine and Hawk Ridge encourage interested parties to visit the website regularly.