Investment Firm Advocates a Blended Board
BALTIMORE, May 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- T. Rowe Price Associates,
Inc., the largest shareholder of Insituform Technologies, Inc., (Nasdaq:
INSU) announced today that, on behalf of the T. Rowe Price funds and
certain of its advisory clients, it intends to vote to elect Nickolas W.
Vande Steeg and Matthew J. Diserio to the Board of Directors at
Insituform's annual meeting of shareholders on May 19, 2008.
As of the record date of the shareholder meeting, T. Rowe Price was the
beneficial owner of 3.44 million shares of Insituform common stock, or more
than 12.5 percent of the shares outstanding. T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.
is a registered investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission and a wholly owned subsidiary of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.
(Nasdaq: TROW).
"Insituform has a promising future, but we believe its board has failed
to capitalize on opportunities for growth in the past," said T. Rowe Price
Portfolio Manager Greg McCrickard. "We believe the introduction of new
voices at the board level is the first step to enhancing shareholder
value."
In addition to two directors from the dissidents' slate of five
nominees, T. Rowe Price will cast votes to re-elect four of Insituform's
seven board members. The firm will cast its votes in favor of directors J.
Joseph Burgess, Stephen P. Cortinovis, Stephanie A. Cuskley and Juanita H.
Hinshaw.
"We support the strategic initiatives of Insituform's new Chief
Executive Officer, Joe Burgess," said Portfolio Manager Preston Athey. "But
we believe the new strategy will benefit from some fresh thinking on the
board. To that end, we feel the board should comprise a blend of certain
current directors working alongside new board members."
Founded in 1937, Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price Group is a global
investment management organization with $378.6 billion in assets under
management as of March 31, 2008. The organization provides a broad array of
mutual funds, subadvisory services, and separate account management for
individual and institutional investors, retirement plans, and financial
intermediaries. The company also offers a variety of sophisticated
investment planning and guidance tools. T. Rowe Price's disciplined,
risk-aware investment approach focuses on diversification, style
consistency, and fundamental research. More information is available at
http://www.troweprice.com.
Not a Proxy Statement
This press release is not a proxy statement or a solicitation of
proxies from the holders of common stock of Insituform and does not
constitute an offer of any securities of Insituform. Any solicitation of
proxies will be made only by the definitive proxy statement that Insituform
has mailed to all stockholders and filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Investors are advised to read the definitive proxy statement
because it contains important information. Investors and security holders
may obtain a free copy of the definitive proxy statement and other
documents at the Securities and Exchange Commission's web site.
SOURCE T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.troweprice.com
CONTACT:
Brian Lewbart, +1-410-345-2242; Steve
Norwitz, +1-410-345-2124; Robert Benjamin, +1-410-345-2205, all
of T. Rowe Price
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