Focused Compounding Fund, LP mailed a letter to the shareholders of Parks! America, Inc.
$PRKA
What You Won in February, and What You’ll Win in June as Shareholders of Parks! America, Inc.
To the Parks! America Shareholders Suffering From 14 Years of Neglect:
Focused Compounding is a private investment fund and the largest shareholder of Parks! America, Inc. (“Parks! America” or the “Company”), owning approximately 38.44% of the issued and outstanding shares. We have been a significant shareholder of Parks! America for over four years, and like you have been frustrated by the Company’s continued poor performance. As you probably know, we have become increasingly disappointed with the incumbent Board’s and management’s oversight and operation of Parks! America, and we believe the February Special Meeting of Shareholders gave the Company’s shareholders a long-overdue opportunity to make their wishes known.
By exercising your right to vote at the February special meeting (where Focused Compounding’s proposals received 57% of votes cast vs. 43% for the incumbent board) you won: a “significant breakthrough for registered shareholders,” quarterly earnings calls, an annual meeting, and an investor day. We believe this simple act of voting your shares caused the Company to do more for you in 14 weeks than it had in 14 years.
That’s the power of shareholder democracy.
It’s a power whose future may be uncertain if the incumbent board ekes out a victory on June 6th at the Company’s Annual Meeting, given the Company’s history of not holding shareholder meetings for the previous 14 years, among other things.
What makes a stock a stock?
Owning a common stock entitles you to two things:
1) An economic interest in the corporation
2) A voting interest in the corporation
Without #2, you have no way to protect #1.
The future is uncertain. No board or management team can promise you results. But every board and every management team comes with a built in orientation – a sense of right and wrong – that determines what’s true north on the corporate compass.
All of Focused Compounding’s efforts are oriented in two – and only two – perfectly complementary directions:
A) Returns to shareholders: dividends, buybacks, and financial results
B) Responsiveness to shareholders
Parks! America is a public company. As I write this, approximately $10 million of market value belongs neither to Chuck Kohnen nor to Focused Compounding. It belongs to other shareholders like you.
Insiders can take care of themselves. A public company should be run for the folks who aren’t in the boardroom. But – as you’ve seen since February – the folks in the boardroom sometimes don’t respond until they’ve developed a healthy fear of the ballot box. Outside the campaign season, they can forget you exist.
If Focused Compounding wins on June 6th, there will be immediate reforms in two areas:
i) Capital Allocation
ii) Investor Relations
I know all this constant communication from the two sides is exhausting and confusing. But your Company may backslide on its transition to shareholder democracy if you don’t turn out on June 6th and send the same message you did in February.
We had hoped the February special meeting results would be enough to show the Parks! incumbent board the writing on the wall. But they seem dead set on receiving your message again.
Grant them their wish on June 6th. Vote the blue proxy card in favor of our four (4) nominees.
Sincerely,
Focused Compounding
Source:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1297937/000199937124006531/prka-dfan14a_052324.htm