Board prepares for showdown with Sherritt shareholders

A showdown between the board of Sherritt Gordon (TSE) and a group of minority shareholders who are attempting to win control of the company is expected to occur at a special shareholders’ meeting in Toronto, Sept. 19. Sherritt has called the meeting in response to a request by SherGor Enterprises, a company controlled by two former senior executives of Horsham (TSE).

Claiming they hold a 5% stake in Sherritt, SherGor’s Ian Delaney and Bruce Walter will ask shareholders to vote on its motion to remove the current board of directors and replace it with SherGor nominees.

However, the board of Sherritt is recommending that shareholders reject the motion.

“The board believes the interests of all Sherritt’s shareholders are best served by managers who are experienced in the company’s core businesses of metal, refining, fertilizers, and downstream products and technology,” says Sherritt President Charles Heinrich. “Delaney and his friends do not have that experience,” he says.

Although Sherritt reported a first- quarter loss of almost $2 million largely because of low nickel prices, Heinrich says management’s current strategic plan will enhance the long-term value of the company for all shareholders.

“Delaney and his friends have not proposed an alternative strategy and, other than seeking executive and board positions for themselves, have not indicated who they would entrust to represent the shareholders on the board,” says Heinrich.

Scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., the meeting will be held in the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce building on King St. West.