Masimo to accept board member proposed by Politan Capital Management

Masimo promised to accept one of the board members proposed by Politan Capital Management under certain conditions while taking more shots at the activist investor’s leader.

The device developer said it would appoint former Johnson & Johnson MedTech executive Michelle Brennan to the board if shareholders voted to expand it from five members to seven.

Politan nominated Brennan along with Politan Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer Quentin Koffey for two board seats up for election at the annual shareholder meeting this month.

Masimo asked shareholders to vote for their director nominees — incumbents H Michael Cohen and Julie Shimer — and to support a non-binding, advisory vote on the board’s expansion.

Shimer — chair of the Masimo Board Nominating Committee — accused Koffey of having “a history of misstatement and distortion and no relevant experience” in a news release.

Masimo said it would appoint Brennan to the board immediately after the June 26 annual meeting if shareholders support the board expansion and vote for both of Masimo’s nominees. Masimo has previously said it would select an external search firm to find new candidates for an expanded board.

This week, Masimo and Politan released dueling presentations supporting their respective campaigns. Both organizations have also launched websites: advancemasimo.com from Politan and keepmasimostrong.com from Masimo.

Politan has not responded to the latest from Masimo, but we’ll update this post if and when they do. MassDevice