GREENWICH, Conn., April 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- FrontFour Capital Group LLC, together with its affiliates ("FrontFour"), today responded to Sensient Technologies Corporation's (NYSE:SXT) (the "Company" or "Sensient") repeated misstatements attacking the qualifications and backgrounds of its four highly qualified nominees, James R. Henderson, James E. Loukas, Stephen E. Loukas and William E. Redmond, Jr.

To set the record straight, each of FrontFour's nominees have deep and relevant experience to execute operational restructurings, strong cumulative experience across industries including chemicals, and dynamic financial backgrounds, to move Sensient in the right direction.


    --  James R. Henderson has significant restructuring experience that is very
        relevant to the issues facing Sensient today.  Given Mr. Henderson's
        background in restructuring, it is only natural for him to have overseen
        company bankruptcies.  To suggest that Mr. Henderson is responsible for
        these bankruptcies or value destruction is misleading at best.  In
        addition, Mr. Henderson has the unique perspective of serving not only
        as an operator but also an effective overseer of management, having
        served on 9 public company boards and as Chief Executive Officer of
        various companies across multiple industries.
    --  James E. Hyman has relevant industry and international experience,
        currently serving as President and CEO of TestAmerica Laboratories,
        Inc., the nation's largest laboratory network providing advanced testing
        services serving major industrial corporations at over 90 locations in
        the U.S. and globally, and previously serving in senior executive
        positions at Starwood Hotels & Resorts, implementing a global initiative
        throughout the U.S., South America, Europe and the Middle East, and GE
        Capital, overseeing operations in Europe and India.  Mr. Hyman's depth
        of experience serving as a director of two public companies as well as
        his diverse business leadership roles with large, global private
        companies will allow him to assist the Board with the challenges facing
        the Company's international business.  Mr. Hyman's operator's
        perspective can also assist management in more efficiently allocating
        its R&D budget.
    --  Stephen E. Loukas can bring an owners-perspective to the Board,
        something clearly lacking on the current Board.  Despite an average
        tenure of 13 years, the current Board, excluding former CEO and current
        Chairman of the Board, Kenneth Manning, collectively directly owns just
        0.25% of the Company's outstanding common stock.  In contrast, FrontFour
        owns approximately $40 million of stock in Sensient.  Accordingly, Mr.
        Loukas' principal goal will be to maximize the value of Sensient for the
        benefit of ALL shareholders.  In addition, Mr. Loukas has broad-based
        knowledge of the specialty chemical industry, having overseen
        FrontFour's extensive positions within the chemical industry, including
        the firm's investments in Ferro Corporation and Zoltek Companies, Inc.,
        which yielded significant value creation for shareholders.
    --  William E. Redmond, Jr. has extensive executive and board experience,
        including direct industry experience, having served as an executive
        officer and/or director of eighteen (18) different public and private
        companies since 1996. The Company attempts to impugn the reputation of
        Mr. Redmond by raising a trade secrets lawsuit he was party to nearly
        two decades ago with PepsiCo, Inc. What Sensient neglects to tell you,
        is that the Federal court in that case found no instances of
        misappropriation of trade secrets, nor were fines levied against Mr.
        Redmond.  In addition, this matter has been fully vetted by the 18 board
        and/or managerial positions that Mr. Redmond has held since the case.
        More importantly, during his entire 8½ year tenure as CEO of General
        Chemical Corporation and its predecessor GenTek, Inc., a manufacturer of
        performance chemicals, Mr. Redmond created substantial equity value in
        each of their respective chemical businesses, with EBITDA margins
        consistently higher than that of Sensient.  Mr. Redmond also has
        significant restructuring experience, having been brought into companies
        to oversee a turnaround.  For Sensient to allege that Mr. Redmond led
        these companies into bankruptcy is disturbingly misleading.

In contrast, the incumbent Board is stale. The four incumbent directors FrontFour has targeted, James A.D. Croft, William V. Hickey, Kenneth P. Manning and Essie Whitelaw, have an average tenure of 20 years, with Croft and Hickey having each served on the Board for 17 years; Kenneth Manning for 25 years; and Whitelaw for 21 years. In addition, as highlighted by Glass Lewis & Co., LLC ("Glass Lewis"), a leading proxy advisory firm, in its report recommending that shareholders vote on FrontFour's GREEN proxy card to elect three of FrontFour's nominees, Glass Lewis noted:

"Ms. Whitelaw and Mr. Croft served on the compensation committee in each of the last three years, during periods when the Company consistently failed to fairly link executive compensation with Company performance. While the incumbent board has recently taken steps to reform compensation practices, we believe shareholders should be concerned by the inertia exhibited by these directors in addressing compensation deficiencies."

Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc. ("ISS"), another leading proxy advisory firm, also raised serious concerns about the effectiveness of Sensient's corporate governance in recommending that shareholders WITHHOLD votes from the entire Sensient Board on management's proxy card, noting, "A litany of governance concerns and related party activities over the lengthy tenures of the incumbent directors... raise serious concerns about the board's oversight and the effectiveness of corporate governance at this company."

ISS also stated in their report that shareholders who prefer to send a stronger message than simply withholding on the management card, may wish to register their concern about the Board's poor governance practices and need for stronger independence from management by voting for FrontFour nominee James E. Hyman on FrontFour's GREEN proxy card. ISS noted that Mr. Hyman's prior experience, "...is likely to bring a usefully broader perspective on the value of good governance practices and board independence from management."

FRONTFOUR URGES ALL SHAREHOLDERS TO VOTE THE GREEN PROXY CARD TODAY TO ELECT FRONTFOUR'S HIGHLY QUALIFIED DIRECTOR NOMINEES.

Shareholders who have any questions, or require assistance with their vote, should contact FrontFour's proxy solicitor, Okapi Partners LLC, at (212) 297-0720 or (877) 566-1922, or by email at info@okapipartners.com.

Contacts:



    Stephen Loukas         Bruce H. Goldfarb/Charles W. Garske/Lisa Patel

    FrontFour Capital
     Group LLC             Okapi Partners LLC

    35 Mason Street, 4th
     Floor                 (212) 297-0720

    Greenwich, CT 06830    info@okapipartners.com

    203-274-9050

SOURCE FrontFour Capital Group LLC