Seidman to Massbank: Learn Who You Are Dealing With

Thrift-specialist, activist hedge fund manager Lawrence Seidman wants Massbank Corp.’s President and chief executive to know exactly who he is.

Seidman, who has engaged management and launched successful proxy contests at several thrifts through his Seidman and Associates LLC fund, wrote a letter Wednesday to Massbank CEO Gerard H. Brandi explaining that the two should have a conversation about his past endeavors.

In late December, Seidman launched a proxy contest to nominate three candidates, including himself, to the company board.

According to a letter attached to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Wednesday, Seidman said he was under the impression that Brandi wanted to investigate his previous activist efforts. In response, Seidman wrote that Brandi simply should give him a call and he would receive the names of directors of all the boards he has served on.

“Since you have a desire to investigate me, if you or your counsel contact me, I will provide you with the names of directors at every financial institution where I was a member of the Board, or had a representative on the Board, so you can contact these individuals, who have direct knowledge about me and my interaction with other financial institutions,” Seidman wrote.

And Seidman appears to be angling for some sort of settlement with Massbank. In the letter he points out that “nobody profits from a proxy contest other than the consultants.” Perhaps Massbank will take Seidman up on his offer and strike a deal to put him on the board. In exchange, perhaps Seidman would drop his proxy contest.

Reading, Mass-based Massbank has a $154 million stock market capitalization. Seidman and Associates holds a 7.4% Massbank stake. -- Ron Orol

Ron Orol is a Washington-based reporter for The Deal and author of Extreme Value Hedging: How Activist Hedge Fund Managers Are Taking on the World.