Richard Farmer Announces Support for Farmer Brothers’ Director Nominees

NORTHLAKE, Texas, Dec. 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Farmer Bros. Co. (NASDAQ:FARM) (the “Company” or “Farmer Brothers”) today announced that Richard Farmer, a member of the founding Farmer family, provided the Company with the following statement to share with other stockholders:

As a member of the Farmer family and a longtime Farmer Brothers stockholder beneficially owning approximately 1.2 million shares, I support the Company’s Board of Directors and management team.

I have found the Board and management team to be open to engaging in constructive dialogue with stockholders and am confident in their commitment to acting in the best interests of Farmer Brothers and all of the Company’s stockholders.

I am pleased with the actions the Board has recently taken to position the Company for a return to profitable growth. This includes taking steps to strengthen the Company’s financial position, address challenges in the DSD business and appoint new leadership that is engaging employees and focusing the organization on execution. I believe the Board’s recent appointment of Deverl Maserang as President and Chief Executive Officer, bringing his significant expertise in turnarounds, global supply-chain transformations and the food and beverage industry to the Company, should benefit the Company and stockholders.

Additionally, I am pleased with the Board’s decision to declassify the Board. It is clear that the Board is committed to ensuring the Company’s corporate governance practices best serve the interests of stockholders.

I look forward to supporting all three of the Company’s Board nominees – Deverl Maserang, Chuck Marcy, Chris Mottern – at the upcoming 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

– Richard F. Farmer

The Farmer Brothers Board and management team appreciate the support of Richard Farmer and remain committed to acting in the best interests of the Company and delivering value to all stockholders.

Farmer Brothers reminds stockholders that every vote is important, no matter how many or how few shares it represents. The Company urges all stockholders to use the WHITE proxy card to vote “FOR” the Company’s highly-qualified and experienced director nominees TODAY.

About Farmer Bros. Co.

Founded in 1912, Farmer Bros. Co. is a national coffee roaster, wholesaler, and distributor of coffee, tea, and culinary products. The Company's product lines include organic, Direct Trade and sustainably-produced coffee. With a robust line of coffee, hot and iced teas, cappuccino mixes, spices, and baking/biscuit mixes, the Company delivers extensive beverage planning services and culinary products to its U.S. based customers. The Company serves a wide variety of customers, from small independent restaurants and foodservice operators to large institutional buyers like restaurant and convenience store chains, hotels, casinos, healthcare facilities, and gourmet coffee houses, as well as grocery chains with private brand coffee and consumer-facing branded coffee and tea products, and foodservice distributors.

Headquartered in Northlake, Texas. The Company's primary brands include Farmer Brothers®, Artisan Collection by Farmer Brothers™, Superior®, Metropolitan™, China Mist® and Boyds®.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this communication constitute “forward-looking statements.” When used in this communication, the words “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates” and “believes,” and similar expressions and statements that are made in the future tense or refer to future events or developments, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include, but are not limited to, the timing and success of our DSD restructuring plan, the Company’s success in consummating acquisitions and integrating acquired businesses, the impact of capital improvement projects, the adequacy and availability of capital resources to fund the Company’s existing and planned business operations and the Company’s capital expenditure requirements, the relative effectiveness of compensation-based employee incentives in causing improvements in Company performance, the capacity to meet the demands of our large national account customers, the extent of execution of plans for the growth of Company business and achievement of financial metrics related to those plans, the ability of the Company to retain and/or attract qualified employees, the success of the Company’s adaptation to technology and new commerce channels, the effect of the capital markets as well as other external factors on stockholder value, fluctuations in availability and cost of green coffee, competition, organizational changes, the effectiveness of our hedging strategies in reducing price risk, changes in consumer preferences, our ability to provide sustainability in ways that do not materially impair profitability, changes in the strength of the economy, business conditions in the coffee industry and food industry in general, our continued success in attracting new customers, variances from budgeted sales mix and growth rates, weather and special or unusual events, as well as other risks described in this presentation and other factors described from time to time in our filings with the SEC.

These statements are based on management’s current expectations, assumptions, estimates and observations of future events and include any statements that do not directly relate to any historical or current fact; actual results may differ materially due in part to the risk factors set forth in our most recent annual, periodic and current reports filed with the SEC. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements in this communication, which are based on information available to the Company on the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation to update such statements.

Important Additional Information and Where to Find It

Farmer Bros. Co. has filed a definitive proxy statement and accompanying WHITE proxy card with the SEC in connection with the solicitation of proxies from the Company’s stockholders in connection with the matters to be considered at the Company’s 2019 Annual Meeting. Additional information regarding the identity of participants, and their direct or indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, is set forth in the Company’s definitive proxy statement, including the schedules and appendices thereto.

THE COMPANY URGES ITS INVESTORS AND STOCKHOLDERS TO READ CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT (INCLUDING ANY SUPPLEMENTS OR AMENDMENTS), THE ACCOMPANYING WHITE PROXY CARD AND ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS THAT THE COMPANY MAY FILE WITH THE SEC WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION.

Farmer Bros. Co., certain of its directors and certain of its executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the Company’s stockholders in connection with the matters to be considered at the Company’s 2019 Annual Meeting. Information regarding the names of the Company’s directors and executive officers and their respective interests in the Company by security holdings or otherwise is set forth in the Company’s definitive proxy statement for its 2019 Annual Meeting. To the extent holdings of the Company’s securities have changed since the amounts set forth in the Company’s definitive proxy statement for the 2019 Annual Meeting, such changes have been reflected on Initial Statements of Beneficial Ownership on Form 3, Statements of Change in Ownership on Form 4 or Annual Statements of Changes in Beneficial Ownership of Securities on Form 5 filed with the SEC. These documents are available free of charge at the SEC’s website at

Copies of the definitive proxy statement (including any supplements or amendments), the accompanying WHITE proxy card, and any other documents filed by the Company with the SEC are available free of charge at the SEC’s website at Copies are also available free of charge at the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at

Contacts

Investor:

Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher

Leigh Parrish, 212-355-4449

Shareholders Contact:

Morrow Sodali

Mike Verrechia/Bill Dooley, (800) 662-5200