Barington nominates Mitarotonda and two others as directors at Matthews, sources say

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss

NEW YORK, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Activist investor Barington Capital Management nominated its founder, James Mitarotonda, and two other executives with public board experience as director candidates at casket maker Matthews International , people familiar with the matter said.

In addition to Mitarotonda, Barington nominated Ana Amicarella, who currently serves on the boards of Forward Air

and Warrior Met Coal , and investment industry veteran Chan Galbato, who runs Cerberus Operations and Advisory Company and served on the board of grocer Albertsons until recently, said the people, who asked to remain anonymous to reveal the private discussions.

Matthews did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Barington owns about 2% of the outstanding stock of Matthews, which makes products for cemeteries, funeral homes and crematories. It wants the company to replace Chief Executive Joseph Bartolacci, who has been running the company for nearly two decades, the hedge fund said last week.

It also wants Matthews to consider divesting its SGK Brand Solutions segment, follow through with its review for its Warehouse Automation and Product Identification businesses and find a partner for its Energy Storage (dry cell lithium-ion battery) manufacturing business.

Three Matthews directors who sit on the 11-member board are expected to stand for reelection at the company's annual meeting early next year. Barington also wants the company to ensure that all directors stand for election annually and plans to submit a proposal to de-classify the board, the people said.

Matthews said last week that its business outlook is strong. It previously announced it had hired JPMorgan Chase and was exploring strategic alternatives. That news pushed the stock price up more than 20%. Since January, the company's shares have lost nearly 25% to close at $27.77 on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss in New York Editing by Matthew Lewis)

((svea.herbst@thomsonreuters.com; +617 233 2138; Reuters Messaging: svea.herbst.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))