USA Truck to add two Board members in deal with United Shareholders

Officials with Van Buren-based USA Truck have agreed with Baker Street Capital and Stone House Capital Management to add two new positions to the Board of Directors. Baker Street and Stone House – “United Shareholders” with respect to their interest in USA Truck – collectively own 28% of USA Truck shares.

Vadim Perelman, managing partner and chief investment officer of Baker Street, and Thomas Glaser, a former chief operations officer at USA Truck, are to be appointed to the USA Truck Board of Directors. The board will now have nine members.

Under the deal, United Shareholders will vote all of their shares for the election of William H. Hanna and James Simpson, III, as directors and in favor of the other proposals submitted for stockholder approval at the 2014 Annual Meeting.

"As always, the USA Truck Board is dedicated to creating value for our shareholders and we appreciate the constructive input that Baker Street Capital and Stone House Capital have provided towards our mutual goal over the past several months. We welcome both Vadim Perelman and Tom Glaser to the Board,” USA Truck Chairman Robert Peiser said in a statement. “We expect Vadim to be a constructive member of our Board who will add valuable financial and strategic expertise that will help us accelerate the execution of our turnaround plan. Tom has been a senior transportation executive for almost three decades and served as a consultant to USA Truck in 2012 and as interim Chief Operating Officer in 2013.”

Baker Street and Stone House were able to combine holdings after USA Truck in April removed a poison pill provision that capped ownership at 15%. Peiser said at the time that the “Stockholders’ Rights Plan” approved in November 2012 had served its purpose by protecting the company during a vulnerable time so the company could “ execute our turnaround without unnecessary distractions, including unsolicited and inadequate takeover offers.”

USA Truck shares (NASDAQ: USAK) closed Thursday at $15.47, up 48 cents. During the past 52 weeks, the share price has ranged from a $19.57 high to a $5.28 low.