Twin Cities Business (Minnesota) (12/18/12) Jake Anderson

In a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Heartland Advisors Inc. introduced a shareholder proposal requesting that Analysts International Corp. pursue a sale. The proposal asked Analysts International’s board to “immediately engage the services of an investment banking firm to evaluate alternatives that could enhance shareholder value, including, but not limited to, a merger or sale of the company.” Heartland Advisors, which said it owns more than 9% of the company, claimed that Analysts International’s “high quality talent and client lists have real value”—but due to its market capitalization of only $16 million, the company has difficulty attracting attention on Wall Street, and would therefore be better off as part of a larger entity or as a private company, which would eliminate the costs of being a public company.