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Activist threatens to nominate alternative director slate for First United board

Activist investor Driver Management Co. LLC said it would submit a slate of independent director nominees for election to First United Corp.'s board if existing leadership refuses to initiate a sale process.

Driver Management founder and managing member Abbott Cooper said his firm, which owns more than 5% of First United's outstanding stock, would have no choice but to put forward three nominees for election at the bank's next annual meeting if the current board "continues prioritizing self-preservation over shareholder value."

"The Board now has a clear choice: force an irrational, wasteful proxy contest to try to save itself or fulfill its obligations to shareholders by initiating a sale process," Cooper said in a release.

Driver Management in early September renewed its previous calls for the bank to sell. First United replied that it was "disappointed" that the firm was conducting a "distracting and costly public campaign." Most recently, First United denied allegations made by Driver Management that its CEO, Carissa Rodeheaver, had withheld information.

First United did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

Kluk Farber Law and Olshan Frome Wolosky are advising Driver Management.