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April 15 (Reuters) – Indaba Capital Management said Benefitfocus Inc\u2019s unwillingness to \u201ccompromise\u201d and appoint the hedge fund\u2019s director nominee to the benefit management software company\u2019s board was disappointing.<\/p>\n
The parties have been trading barbs for weeks over the company\u2019s high turnover in its executive suite and who should be sitting on its board.<\/p>\n
In its latest proposal, Indaba had suggested Benefitfocus appoint Ronald Mitchell, one of the two candidates nominated by the hedge fund on Mar. 16, to its board, and in exchange offered to withdraw its other nomination and accept settlement terms.<\/p>\n
Benefitfocus did not immediately respond to Reuters\u2019 request for comment.<\/p>\n
Indaba\u2019s two nominees were Ronald Mitchell, managing partner of Low Post Ventures, and Nicholas Pianim, a managing director at venture capital firm DAG Ventures<\/p>\n
In February, San Francisco-based Indaba, which owns a roughly 9.5% stake in Benefitfocus, called on the South Carolina-based company to sell the business following years of poor returns, sluggish stock price during booming markets, and warned that shareholders will lose confidence if nothing changes.<\/p>\n