CPI's Landslide Board Election: Ramius Loses

On Wednesday of last week, CPI Corporation (NYSE:CPY) announced that preliminary results show that its shareholders overwhelmingly voted for the company’s slate of board nominees. Ramius Capital Group, an activist hedge fund manager, had nominated two of its own representatives for board positions.

Ramius, one of the largest shareholders in CPI Corp with a 23% stake, had cited disapproval of the special authority given to 3.5% shareholder and investment firm Knightspoint. According to a letter to shareholders, Ramius’ goal was to obtain two of the six board seats without “interest in taking over the company.”

In response to the results, CPI Corp’s Chairman David Meyer commented,

On behalf of CPI's board and management team, we thank our stockholders for their strong endorsement of the Company's slate of directors…We are confident that CPI has the right board and management team in place and is executing the right strategic plan to further enhance value for all of our stockholders.

CPI Corp’s shares ended the week at $16.07, down from levels that nearly hit $18.00 prior to Wednesday’s announcement.

Ramius Capital Group is an investment management firm founded in 1994 by Peter Cohen, one of the firm's four Managing Members and the former Chairman and CEO of Shearson Lehman Brothers.

Last month, Ramius signed an agreement to purchase boutique investment bank Cowen Group Inc. (NASDAQ: COWN) in a deal that will create a diversified financial services. Following the deal, which is expected to be finalized in Q4 2009, the firm is expected to adopt the Cowen Group Inc name. For more information about Ramius and its other activist activities, please here.

Disclosure: No positions