May 9 (Reuters) - Masimo ( MASI ) said on Thursday that

it is prepared to appoint Politan Capital Management's nominee

William Jellison as a director on its board, if the activist

investor withdraws its other nominee and drops its proxy

contest.

In March, Politan, which owns a near 9% stake in Masimo ( MASI ), had

nominated Jellison, former CFO of Stryker, and Darlene

Solomon, former CTO of Agilent Technologies ( A ), as its

candidates to Masimo's ( MASI ) six-member board.

Quentin Koffey-owned Politan has long criticized

Masimo's ( MASI ) capital allocation and board oversight and expressed

particular concern about its $1 billion purchase of consumer

audio products maker Sound United in 2022.

In a letter addressed to Koffey, Masimo ( MASI ) said "reaching a

settlement would provide stockholders immediate clarity on the

path forward, confidence that management can focus on

operational execution and not be distracted by a proxy contest".

Politan Capital Management did not immediately respond

to a request for comment.