Letters to the Editor Confused about amalgamation

Will someone please explain what is going on, to an ignorant, uneducated holder of many Canadian mining stocks?

First, an article in The Northern Miner (April 11/88), stating that a huge new corporation is to be formed by the amalgamation of a handful of mining companies, the new corporation to be known as Corona Corp.

Shortly thereafter, I receive a circular from each of those companies in which I hold shares — nearly 400 pages of almost incomprehensible legal gobbledygook, and a proxy voting certificate. This is followed by a brochure in living color, outlining the almost unbelievable benefits that will probably accrue (to someone) as a result of this amalgamation.

In my innocence, I fill out the proxies and send them in. I vote against the amalgamation having, for instance, invested in International Corona Corp. because it is doing a splendid job of bringing gold out of the ground and selling it for a profit. Conversely, I hold Galveston Resources because I held Torrent Resources as a result of purchasing Ventora Resources. I paid dearly for the transition from Ventora to Galveston. As far as I can see, Galveston is nothing more than a shell, a vehicle for Mr Pezim to mine press releases from.

But I digress.

Today, my broker called to ask me what attorney I was planning to take to Toronto with me to present my objections. When I explained that I had no such intention, he made it clear that I had foolishly interfered with the smoothly turning wheels of “big business.”

I apologize to all proper parties for voting against this amalgamation. I am also concerned because, to an uneducated person like myself, some of the legalese makes it appear that I run the risk of losing my shares of stock as a result of being against the merger.

Could this proposal have been couched in similar, shorter terms, in addition to the necessary legal format?

Time may prove me wrong in this matter and I do not mind being proved wrong. I know that in many areas I am woefully ignorant, and I take some small comfort in the knowledge that I have such company. But I object strongly to management’s smug assumption that the merger is a foregone conclusion, and I am very upset at having been led to believe that I could vote against it without feeling that I had sinned. D. J. Phillipe Clearwater, Fla. P.S. Have you ever run a survey to identify the percentage of your readers who are not professional engineers, etc.? People who don’t know what strike, dip and uncut values are? There are a lot of us out here.

By the way, I hold a portfolio of Canadian mining stocks primarily because The Northern Miner is the clearest, most concise, prestigious publication of its type in the world — and I have tried them all — before settling on N.M. and Canada.