NEW YORK, May 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ClearBridge Investments, an investment affiliate of Legg Mason, Inc. LM, today announced that it has sent the following letter to the Board of Directors of athenahealth Inc. 

Mr. Jeff Immelt
Mr. Brandon Hull
Ms. Jacqueline Kosecoff
Mr. Brian McKeon
athenahealth Inc.
311 Arsenal Street
Watertown, MA 02472

May 30, 2018

Dear Members of the athenahealth Inc. Board:

Our thanks are extended to members of the Board of Directors for their frank conversation on Monday, May 21. We are pleased that the Board is committed to driving sound corporate governance, organizational improvement and maximizing value for all shareholders.

As we discussed, ClearBridge Investments has been a long-term investor in athenahealth since early 2010.   We've believed in the opportunity to disrupt the health care information technology industry and eventually generate attractive profitability metrics.  

The litany of executive turnover, misexecution on several initiatives and persistent downward trajectory of a variety of financial measures suggests that a different mindset may be best to guide the business prospectively. 

We acknowledge that the Board began to take measures last summer to scrutinize the business from all angles and improve execution.  We further believe it is essential to continue that effort to its fullest logical outcome.  We urge the Board of Directors to instruct its financial advisors, Lazard and Centerview Partners, to commence a formal solicitation process including all potential strategic and financial suitors. 

In light of the public proposal to take athenahealth private by Elliott Management, ClearBridge Investments strongly encourages the Board of Directors to fully exercise its fiduciary responsibility to represent all of the company's shareholders.

We would be happy to make ourselves available should you wish to discuss this further. Thank you for your consideration and prompt action.

Respectfully,

About ClearBridge Investments
ClearBridge Investments is a leading global equity manager with $135.3 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2018. The Firm is committed to delivering long-term results through authentic active management, as we have for more than 50 years, and continues to offer investment solutions that emphasize differentiated, bottom-up stock selection to move our clients forward. We offer strategies focused on three primary client objectives in our areas of proven expertise: high active share, income solutions and low volatility, with ESG factors integrated throughout. Owned by Legg Mason, ClearBridge operates from headquarters in New York and offices in Baltimore, London, San Francisco and Wilmington. For more information, visit www.ClearBridge.com.

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SOURCE ClearBridge Investments