Atlantic Coast Financial Corp (fka ACFC)

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Jay Sidhu: Atlantic Coast’s future needs a new CEO, board of directors

Jun 12, 2013, 3:00pm EDT

Dissident board member Jay Sidhu reiterated his opinion Wednesday on the future of Atlantic Coast Financial Corp.

Sidhu all but said that the only chance for the bank’s survival is if it gets a new CEO and a new board of directors.

Shareholders voted against the proposed merger Tuesday between Jacksonville-based Atlantic Coast Financial (Nasdaq: ACFC), the holding company for Atlantic Coast Bank, and Miami-based Bond Street Holdings. The companies announced Feb. 26 plans to merge Atlantic Coast into Bond Street Holdings for $5 per share.

The bank issued a statement Tuesday saying the board of directors will begin evaluating other strategic alternatives immediately, including a possible recapitalization.

Sidhu said Wednesday that the board would will look at every single way to enhance shareholder value and he hopes the board will be engaged in looking for a superior merger offer or raising more capital.

But he also said that the only way for the bank to raise capital if there was a new CEO at the bank and a reconstituted board of directors.

“Without those two things, we can’t raise capital...investors are looking for new leaders,” he said.

Sidhu has been calling for new leadership at the bank for months, writing several letters to the board and sending them through the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Tom Frankland, CEO of Atlantic Coast Financial Corp., previously told the Business Journal the proposed merger with Bond Street was the best option for the bank.

But Sidhu and other dissident board members have said the bank was being sold short.

Sidhu also said that the board will address all concerns and raise enough capital so shareholder value is maximized in the short and long term. Sidhu thinks the bank is well positioned to be a strong community bank in the Jacksonville area.

“The company will be a profitable company in a few quarters,” he said.

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http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/blog/2013/06/jay-sidhu-atlantic-coasts-future.html