Mark Penn
Mark Penn

Stagwell CEO Mark Penn today filed a Securities and Exchange Commission 13 D/A document to dispute Indaba Capital Management's charge that he is dodging the hedge fund that objects to the terms of Stagwell's merger with MDC Partners.

Indaba managing partner Derek Schrier wrote a letter to Penn on June 28 that begins with, “The silence is deafening. You have declined to engage with us since March, when we told you Indaba could not support the merger based on the initial terms Stagwell proposed.”

Penn denies any stonewalling, claiming that he expressed a willingness to speak with Indaba via an email sent June 17.

He presented the email as Exhibit Q in the SEC filing. Here it is:

From: Mark Penn <[***]@stagwellgroup.com> Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2021 8:07 AM
To: [***]@indabacapital.com
Subject: MDC

Just dropping a note that special committee indicated a desire on your part to talk directly.

I think the time for that would be when the special committee finishes its work on the proposal and Stagwell will be providing updated information to them and so at that time there will be new info made publicly available for you to consider in your voting decision.

If you feel strongly otherwise, I will be around next week.

Schrier’s letter calls Penn “the sole impediment to a successful transaction.”

He wants the MDC CEO to, “Please put your personal economic interests aside and join us to move forward together and get this merger done.”

The MDC/Stagwell merger meeting is set for July 19.

Profile Advisors' Greg Marose and Bela Kirpalani, represent Indaba Capital Management.