Topps Trades Barbs With Hedge Fund

Topps, the venerable purveyor of trading cards and Bazooka chewing gum, remains in a sticky proxy fight with an activist hedge fund shareholder that wants wholesale change at the company.
The latest salvos came Tuesday when Timothy E. Brog, managing partner (and sole employee) of Pembridge Capital Management, released a letter to other shareholders urging them to support his slate of nominees to Topps’ board. The letter argued that Topps, which makes baseball and Pokemon cards, has consistently failed to improve its finances for years, even as it fought off efforts to try new turnaround strategies.
Besides installing himself and two allies on the board, Mr. Brog writes that he will hire an adviser to explore a sale of all or part of the company, as well as consider a share buyback and a special dividend payment. Mr. Brog also promises to slash executive compensation and reduce other costs at the company.