<SEC-DOCUMENT>0001477932-20-003183.txt : 20200602
<SEC-HEADER>0001477932-20-003183.hdr.sgml : 20200602
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20200602160515
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0001477932-20-003183
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	DFAN14A
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		1
FILED AS OF DATE:		20200602
DATE AS OF CHANGE:		20200602
EFFECTIVENESS DATE:		20200602

SUBJECT COMPANY:	

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			FIRST UNITED CORP/MD/
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0000763907
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	NATIONAL COMMERCIAL BANKS [6021]
		IRS NUMBER:				521380770
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			MD
		FISCAL YEAR END:			1231

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		DFAN14A
		SEC ACT:		1934 Act
		SEC FILE NUMBER:	000-14237
		FILM NUMBER:		20936971

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		19 S SECOND ST
		CITY:			OAKLAND
		STATE:			MD
		ZIP:			21550
		BUSINESS PHONE:		3013349471

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		19 S SECOND ST
		CITY:			OAKLAND
		STATE:			MD
		ZIP:			21550

FILED BY:		

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			Driver Management Co LLC
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0001756372
		IRS NUMBER:				831994022
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			DE
		FISCAL YEAR END:			1231

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		DFAN14A

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		250 PARK AVENUE
		STREET 2:		7TH FLOOR
		CITY:			NEW YORK
		STATE:			NY
		ZIP:			10177
		BUSINESS PHONE:		212-572-4811

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		250 PARK AVENUE
		STREET 2:		7TH FLOOR
		CITY:			NEW YORK
		STATE:			NY
		ZIP:			10177
</SEC-HEADER>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>DFAN14A
<SEQUENCE>1
<FILENAME>func_dfan14a.htm
<DESCRIPTION>DFAN14A
<TEXT>
<html><head><title>func_dfan14a.htm</title><!--Document Created by EDGARMaster--></head><body style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT: 10pt times new roman; MARGIN: 0px 7%"><p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <table style="font-size:1px;width:100%" cellpadding="1"> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:5px solid;padding:1pxpxpxpxpxpxpx;"></td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:2px solid;padding-top:1px;padding-left:1px;padding-right:1px;padding:1pxpxpxpxpxpxpx;"></td></tr></table> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:center;"><strong><font style="font-size:12pt">UNITED STATES</font></strong></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:center;"><strong><font style="font-size:12pt">SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION</font></strong></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:center;"><strong><font style="font-size:12pt">Washington, D.C. 20549</font></strong></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:center;"><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:center;"><strong><font style="font-size:18pt">SCHEDULE 14A</font><br>(Rule 14a-101)</strong></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:center;"><br><strong>INFORMATION REQUIRED IN PROXY STATEMENT</strong></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:center;"><br><strong>SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION</strong></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:center;"><br><strong>Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934<br>(Amendment No.&nbsp; )</strong></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:center;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin:0px">Filed by the Registrant &#9744;</p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin:0px">Filed by a Party other than the Registrant &#9746;</p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin:0px">Check the appropriate box:</p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <table style="border-spacing:0;font-size:10pt;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-align:left;line-height:normal;width:100%" cellpadding="0"> <tr style="height:15px"> <td style="width:4%;"> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td style="width:4%;vertical-align:top;"> <p style="margin:0px">&#9744; </p></td> <td style="vertical-align:top;">Preliminary Proxy Statement </td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px;text-indent:30px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px;text-indent:30px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td style="vertical-align:top;"> <p style="margin:0px">&#9744; </p></td> <td style="vertical-align:top;">Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2)) </td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px;text-indent:30px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px;text-indent:30px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td style="vertical-align:top;"> <p style="margin:0px">&#9744; </p></td> <td style="vertical-align:top;">Definitive Proxy Statement </td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px;text-indent:30px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px;text-indent:30px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td style="vertical-align:top;"> <p style="margin:0px">&#9746; </p></td> <td style="vertical-align:top;">Definitive Additional Materials </td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px;text-indent:30px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px;text-indent:30px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td style="vertical-align:top;"> <p style="margin:0px">&#9744; </p></td> <td style="vertical-align:top;">Soliciting Material Under Rule 14a-12 </td></tr></table> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <table style="border-spacing:0;font-size:10pt;text-align:left;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;width:55%" cellpadding="0"> <tr style="height:15px"> <td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 1px solid;"> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:center;"><font style="font-size:18pt"><strong>FIRST UNITED CORPORATION</strong></font></p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:center;">(Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)</p></td></tr></table> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:center;"><strong>DRIVER MANAGEMENT COMPANY LLC</strong></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:center;"><strong>DRIVER OPPORTUNITY PARTNERS I LP</strong></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:center;"><strong>J. ABBOTT R. COOPER</strong></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:center;"><strong>MICHAEL J. DRISCOLL, ED.D</strong></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:center;"><strong>ETHAN C. ELZEN</strong></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:center;"><strong><u>LISA NARRELL-MEAD</u></strong></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:center;">(Name of Persons(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if Other Than the Registrant)</p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp; </p> <table style="border-spacing:0;font-size:10pt;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-align:left;line-height:normal;width:100%" cellpadding="0"> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td colspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"> <p style="margin:0px">Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td style="width:4%;"> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td style="width:4%;"> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&#9746;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">No fee required.</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&#9744;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="margin:0px">Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies: _____________________________</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:justify;">Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies: ____________________________</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:justify;">Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (set forth the amount on which the filing fee is calculated and state how it was determined): ________</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="margin:0px">Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction: ______________________________________________</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:justify;">Total fee paid: __________________________________________</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td>&#9744;</td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">Fee paid previously with preliminary materials: _________________________________________________</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td style="vertical-align:top;">&#9744;</td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:justify;">Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement number, or the form or schedule and the date of its filing.</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td colspan="3"> <p style="margin:0px">Amount previously paid: ___________________________</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td colspan="3"> <p style="margin:0px">Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.: ___________________________</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td colspan="3"> <p style="margin:0px">Filing Party: _____________________________</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td> <td> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td colspan="3"> <p style="margin:0px">Date Filed: ________________________________</p></td></tr></table> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <table style="font-size:1px;width:100%" cellpadding="1"> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:2px solid;padding:1pxpxpxpxpxpxpx;"></td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:5px solid;padding-top:1px;padding-left:1px;padding-right:1px;padding:1pxpxpxpxpxpxpx;"></td></tr></table> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <table style="border-spacing:0;font:10pt times new roman;width:100%" cellpadding="0"> <tr style="height:15px"> <td class="hpbhr">&nbsp;</td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td style="TEXT-INDENT: 0px;"></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td><p style='page-break-after: always'></p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td>&nbsp;</td></tr></table> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px"></p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; TEXT-INDENT: 45px; text-align:justify;">Driver Management Company LLC, together with the other participants named herein (collectively, &#8220;Driver&#8221;), has filed a definitive proxy statement and accompanying WHITE proxy card with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the &#8220;SEC&#8221;) to be used to solicit votes for the election of its slate of director nominees at the upcoming annual meeting (the &#8220;2020 Annual Meeting&#8221;) of shareholders of First United Corporation, a Maryland corporation (the &#8220;Company&#8221; or &#8220;First United&#8221;).</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; TEXT-INDENT: 45px; text-align:justify;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; TEXT-INDENT: 45px; text-align:justify;">Item 1:&nbsp; On June 1, 2020, Driver issued an open letter to shareholders of First United, a copy of which is set forth below, and posted it to the website www.renovatemybank.com.</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; text-align:justify;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:right;">June 2, 2020</p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:justify;">Fellow Shareholders,</p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:justify;"><strong><em>Honesty is the best policy</em></strong></p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:justify;">We began buying shares of First United in March 2019 as an investment, with the thought that First United&#8217;s Board of Directors&#8212;with a little prompting&#8212;would recognize that a sale was the best option to unlock trapped value for all shareholders.&nbsp; We were honest from Day 1 when engaging with the Company about our objective and rationale.</p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:justify;">Given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the drastic measures taken to combat its spread&#8212;as well as facts that have come to light over the last few weeks&#8212;our immediate term objectives have changed, as I will discuss more fully below.&nbsp; We will likely be a First United shareholder for far longer than we originally anticipated, but the core objective remains maximizing shareholder value.</p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:justify;"><strong><em>Honesty is the best policy</em></strong></p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:justify;">So far, First United has not been a good investment for us.&nbsp; Our First United shares are worth far less than what we paid for them and we have had to spend considerable amounts to address a regulatory investigation instigated by First United for the sole purpose of further entrenching the First United Board.&nbsp; We buy stocks that we hope will go up in value, not down, and, while there is a certain amount of cost associated with acting as a catalyst to increase shareholder value, we did not anticipate the extent and scope of First United&#8217;s intensive and relentless lobbying and pressuring of public officials to use taxpayer resources to protect a Board who cares little for shareholders and nothing for shareholders&#8217; rights.</p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:justify;"><strong><em>Honesty is the best policy</em></strong></p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:justify;">Candidly, if Carissa Rodeheaver, First United&#8217;s Chairman and CEO, had been honest when I first met with her last Spring, we would have immediately sold our shares and moved on.&nbsp; If Ms. Rodeheaver had been honest and told me, &#8220;<em>not only will we never consider selling regardless of price, but if you publicly express your views to us and other shareholders, we will secretly mount an intensive campaign of political pressure to use public resources to deprive you of your fundamental right to vote your shares and, if our scheme is unmasked, we will deny our involvement no matter how crystal clear the evidence,</em>&#8221; I would have put in a sell order before leaving the meeting, since there is no way for an investor to underwrite irrational behavior.&nbsp; Similarly, if Ms. Rodeheaver had been honest and told me, &#8220;<em>in addition, for good measure, we&#8217;ll also go after any other shareholders who support you and if you dare to nominate well-intentioned, independent people for election to directorship, not only will we work to sully their reputations, but we will ask that they be targeted for investigation also,</em>&#8221; I wouldn&#8217;t have walked away from the meeting, I would have run.&nbsp; We invest in banks to create value and there is no incentive for us to remain in an investment when the Board is so fiercely committed to maintaining the status quo, regardless of its impact on shareholder value.</p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <table style="border-spacing:0;font:10pt times new roman;width:100%" cellpadding="0"> <tr style="height:15px"> <td class="hpbhr">&nbsp;</td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: black 1px solid; TEXT-INDENT: 0px;"> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:center;">2</p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td><p style='page-break-after: always'></p></td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td>&nbsp;</td></tr></table> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:justify;">Unfortunately, Ms. Rodeheaver wasn&#8217;t honest with me then and she isn&#8217;t being honest with you now.&nbsp; Rather than being honest and&#8212;quite frankly&#8212;saving everyone involved a tremendous amount of aggravation and money, she and the rest of the First United Board acted secretly to undermine the concepts that form the foundation of investing in public companies&#8212;then lied about it.&nbsp; While posing as a normal public company whose goal is increasing the value of shareholders&#8217; investment and adhering to common norms of transparency and accountability, First United has been secretly executing on a strategy of pressuring lawmakers and regulators to harass and intimidate shareholders.&nbsp; Thankfully, First United&#8217;s Board is no more competent at its scheming than it is at increasing shareholder value and there is now clear evidence of this sorry situation publicly available, with more revelations about the extent of its efforts surfacing every week.</p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:justify;">Since Ms. Rodeheaver wasn&#8217;t honest with us last Spring&#8212;nor has she been honest with us at any point since then&#8212;we find ourselves in the middle of a back alley brawl of a proxy fight against a Board desperate to protect itself (if only against letting outsiders discover what other irregularities First United might be engaged in) and willing to do anything to prevent shareholders from having a choice in the election of directors.&nbsp; As noted above, the economic impact of the drastic steps taken to limit the spread of COVID-19 has expanded our investment time frame considerably, and we have been forced to consider other ways to increase shareholder value, such as replacing First United&#8217;s leadership.</p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:justify;">More importantly however, given the evidence of First United&#8217;s offenses against fundamental notions of shareholders rights, this election contest is now overwhelmingly about protecting shareholder rights:&nbsp; <u>changing a boardroom culture that considers secret campaigns against shareholders acceptable, and has no compunction against lying to shareholders and in proxy filings, even when clear evidence of their lies is publicly available for all to see.</u></p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:justify;">As a reminder, you can see all the evidence of First United&#8217;s deceitful campaign against us and shareholder rights at www.RenovateMyBank.com.&nbsp; </p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:justify;">To stand up for shareholder rights, vote the <strong><u>WHITE</u></strong> <strong>proxy card</strong> to elect our independent nominees who will fight for all shareholders&#8217; rights.</p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:justify;">Sincerely,</p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin:0px">Abbott Cooper</p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin:0px">Managing Member<br>Driver Management Company LLC</p> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p> <table style="border-spacing:0;font:10pt times new roman;width:100%" cellpadding="0"> <tr style="height:15px"> <td class="hpbhr">&nbsp;</td></tr> <tr style="height:15px"> <td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: black 1px solid; TEXT-INDENT: 0px;"> <p style="MARGIN: 0px; text-align:center;">3</p></td></tr></table> <p style="margin:0px">&nbsp;</p><body>
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</SEC-DOCUMENT>
