Aimco Loses a Board Seat to a Land & Building Nominee

After a month’s long effort leading up to the annual stockholder meeting of Apartment Investment and Management Company, or Aimco, activist CRE investor Land & Buildings saw partial success in its attempt to place directors on the former’s board.

Michael Stein, chairman of Aimco’s investment committee, which was at the heart of Land & Buildings’ criticisms of the company, is now out. Taking his board position, although not automatically the committee position, is Jim Sullivan, a long-time REIT analyst who had been at Green Street Advisors for 26 years until his retirement.

Not elected was Michelle Applebaum, who Land & Buildings had praised as “a shareholder advocate for more than 30 years” and someone “well-positioned to help Aimco improve its corporate governance, make smarter investment decisions, and regain credibility among the investment community.”

Aimco had opposed both of the outside nominees and claimed that Sullivan wouldn’t add anything because the company had a “close, ongoing advisory relationship with the unit within Green Street where Mr. Sullivan previously worked,” so “already benefits from the full depth and breadth of that organization’s expertise.”

Where Aimco’s arguments seemed to do better was with the other candidate. “Applebaum’s expertise pertains to the steel industry” and she has “no relevant real estate or REIT experience,” Aimco had said.

“Today’s vote to elect Jim Sullivan to the Board is a clear signal that shareholders are no longer satisfied with the status quo at Aimco, and we are confident that Jim will be a voice for change from day one,” a press release quoted Jonathan Litt, founder and chief investment officer of Land & Buildings.

“We thank Aimco stockholders for their constructive feedback and engagement since the spin-off of Apartment Income REIT Corp. (“AIR”) in December 2020 and more recently during the lead up to this year’s annual meeting,” Aimco said in its own press release. The company added, “While the efforts of the Aimco Board and management team have positioned the company for continued success, we remain committed to considering all options to further enhance shareholder value. In addition, we welcome Mr. Sullivan to the Aimco Board and look forward to working with him constructively and benefiting from his perspectives and experiences. We also thank Michael Stein for his dedication and service to Aimco. Mr. Stein played an integral role and added invaluable expertise to the Board. We sincerely appreciate his efforts in driving Aimco’s strategic evolution and we wish him all the best.”

The results are preliminary until final counts are certified by an independent body.