Hedge Fund Calls for Ameron CEO's Job

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Hedge fund activist firm Barington Capital Group is calling for the dismissal of Ameron International Corp.'s (AMN) CEO James Marlen.

The fund complained in a letter to independent directors that Barington has lost confidence in Marlen, adding that his leadership abilities -- including the decision to hire his sons while not disclosing it shareholders -- is dragging down the value of the company.

Ameron describes itself as a manufacturer of "highly-engineered products and materials for the chemical, industrial, energy, transportation and infrastructure markets." The company's stock is currently trading up $1.63 at $76.73. Barington believes the stock should be trading, "well above $100 a share," the letter states.

"It appears to us that the primary achievement of Mr. Marlen - who has earned over $66 million in total compensation during his 16+ years as CEO - has been creating wealth for himself and his family," Barington principal James Mitarotonda said in the letter.

Mitarotonda added that all three of Marlen's sons were employed in "senior positions" at Ameron, but the company did not disclose that fact to shareholders "in a timely fashion, if disclosed at all."

Barington has pushed for a CEO to be replaced before in 2007, when the firm was working with A. Schulman Inc. (SHLM), according to a story by Marketwatch.

Representatives of Ameron did not immediately return calls.

--Written by Maria Woehr in New York.



To contact the writer of this article, click here: Maria Woehr.

To follow the writer on Twitter, go to http://twitter.com/newsgirlmw.

To submit a news tip, send an email to: [e-mail].