Market Cap: $29 million | GEE Group Inc. provides permanent and temporary professional and industrial staffing and placement services in the United States.
Star Equity Holdings
On January 22, 2026, Star Equity Holdings (5.4%) publicly disclosed that GEE Group’s management and board have not responded to its proposal to begin merger talks under a nondisclosure agreement. Star Equity argues that GEE Group’s strategy of remaining an independent small public staffing company with high overhead and a poor acquisition track record has led to steep declines in revenue and shareholder value (FY 2025 revenue fell ~42% from its peak and shares have dropped ~92% over five years). It warns of further cash erosion and strategic missteps, criticizing leadership for rejecting share buybacks in favor of pricey acquisitions, and says a merger with Star Equity could cut duplicate costs, sharpen operations, and benefit both companies’ shareholders. Source
On March 3, 2026, Star Equity Fund urged the board to immediately hire an independent investment bank to run a competitive sale process after noting the company had received multiple unsolicited offers. Source
On April 29, 2026, Star Equity Fund urged GEE Group’s management and board to renegotiate employment agreements for CEO Derek Dewan, CFO Kim Thorpe, and COO Alex Stuckey to eliminate excessive severance and anti-shareholder change-in-control provisions. The fund argued these provisions hinder a competitive, value-maximizing sale process and called on the board to remove obstacles to a robust strategic review, while expressing willingness to engage constructively to enhance shareholder value. Source
On May 6, 2026, Star Equity Holdings proposed acquiring GEE Group in a stock-for-stock deal valuing GEE at $0.30 per share, a 33% premium to its April 30, 2026 closing price. Star, which owns about 5.4% of GEE, said the merger could reduce costs and improve operations, while criticizing GEE’s long-term performance and revenue declines. Source
On June 3, 2026, Star Equity Fund nominated Rick Coleman for the board and urged shareholders to remove directors Peter Tanous and Thomas Vetrano, blaming them for approving controversial executive employment agreements and overseeing years of poor performance and governance. Source
Red Oak Fund
On May 25, 2023, Red Oak Fund (8.7%) delivered a letter to the company nominating a slate of two candidates for election to the board at the 2023 AGM. Source
On August 9, 2023, Red Oak Partners entered into a cooperation agreement with the company and pursuant to it, the Board will increase its size from seven to nine directors and appoint two new independent directors, David Sandberg (Red Oak Capital's nominee) and J. Randall Waterfield) to serve as Class I and Class II directors, respectively, filling the newly created vacancies on the Board.
Goldenwise Capital Group
On August 15, 2023, Goldenwise Capital Group (5.2%) stated that since May 2023, it has been engaged, and intends to continue to engage, in discussions with management regarding opportunities to unlock value, including: Changes to Board Composition, De-staggering Board, Share Repurchase, Corporate Governance Improvement, Potential Selling of the Company. Source