APRIA: Names Three New Directors To Board
"[M]oney-losing" home care provider Apria Healthcare Group Inc. named three new directors to its board yesterday, filling the vacancies left by the three directors who resigned last month. Bloomberg News/Los Angeles Times reports that the new appointments are a move by Costa Mesa-based Apria "to return to profitability and boost its flagging stock price." The company's nine board directors will now be compensated with stock options instead of an $18,000 cash retainer -- "a bid to 'better align' their interests with those of shareholders." An Apria spokesperson said the company gave every director the option to buy 25,000 shares "at an exercise price equal to the company's stock price" Tuesday. "By compensating directors with options rather than cash, we intend to not only reduce expenses but, most importantly, to create incentives that ensure the board is 100% focused on building shareholder value," said Apria Chair Ralph Whitworth. Apria's stock has plummeted 62% in the past year, and the company has replaced its senior management and two-thirds of its board.
Who Are They?
Time Warner Inc. Senior Vice President Philip Lochner Jr., Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System Commissioner Beverly Thomas and Glendale Federal Bank Chair Stephen Trafton were named to the board. They "will stand for reelection at the company's annual meeting" in late July. Click here for more California Healthline coverage of Apria.