Activist shareholder wants to pick two new board members at Minneapolis-based Regis Corp.

A large shareholder in Regis Corp. wants to "assist" the Minneapolis-based hair salon franchisor and is seeking two seats on the board of directors.

Galloway Capital Partners (GCP) owns 4.9% of Regis' outstanding shares after purchasing 13,250 shares since the start of November, according to a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing. In that filing was a copy of a letter GCP sent to the Regis board on Thursday.

"We would like to assist in the process of growing the company, improving the financial structure and enhancing shareholder value," wrote Bruce Galloway, the president and chief investment officer of the firm. "We request that the special committee consider two candidates of our selection with strong public company experience to be added to the board of directors."

Regis had no comment.

GCP became a Regis shareholder a little more than a year ago. The Florida-based investment company says it has experience investing in undervalued public companies.

The start of the investment roughly coincides with Regis completing a transition from owning and franchising salons to an all-franchise model.

That transition hasn't been reflected in the company's share price. On Nov. 1, Regis announced it was conducting a strategic review to examine all its options. Later in the month, Regis did a 1-for-20 reverse stock split to delay a potential delisting because shares were trading under $1.

"Once the listing transfer to Nasdaq is complete, the company expects that it will be in full compliance with Nasdaq continued listing requirements," Regis said in a news release.

Adjusting for the reverse split, Regis shares fell roughly 60% in 2023. The stock price rose 4.6% following GCP's filing on Thursday, before dropping 10% Friday to end the year at $9.45 per share.

In his letter, Galloway noted the stock's poor performance and referred to the strategic review process when offering help running the company.