|
|
Dominion Hires Rothschild to Explore Potential Sale: Bloomberg
Miner under Pressure from Investor Group over Falling Share Price
Dec 23, 2015 6:37 AM
By Rapaport News
|
|
|
RAPAPORT... Dominion Diamond Corp. hired
financial advisers to explore the potential for a sale, Bloomberg reported
December 22, citing people familiar with the matter. The news comes amid
pressure on the Canadian miner from shareholders over the company’s plummeting share
price.
Dominion has hired Paris-based bank Rothschild
& Co., the Bloomberg report said.
In a statement December 23, Dominion confirmed that Rothschild "was retained earlier this year to assist the company and its board of
directors in considering a number of possible initiatives to maximize shareholder value."
"There can be no assurances that any transaction will result from these matters and the company intends
to make no further announcements or comments regarding these matters unless the circumstances so
warrant," the statement added.
Toronto-based
hedge fund K2 & Associates Investment Management, which leads a shareholder
group that together owns 5.4 percent of Dominion’s stock, wrote to Daniel
Jarvis, the lead director of Dominion’s board, December 21, claiming the miner’s
share price has “suffered unnecessarily as a result of misguided policies and
missed opportunities.” The letter lists 10 areas of the company’s operations to
which these criticisms apply, including business strategy, capital allocation
priorities, project priorities, diamond marketing and compensation practices.
The company’s shares have dived 45 percent this year, the Bloomberg
report said and added the stock climbed on Tuesday.
"To
date, the company has failed to articulate a clear plan of action to remedy
these issues," K2 portfolio manager Josef Vejvoda claimed in the letter.
Dominion accepted Vejvoda’s request for a meeting to discuss
the “pressing issues,” saying the miner “looks forward to an open dialogue” in
a response December 22.
“The company’s board and
management team are committed to creating value for our stakeholders and we
will continue to take actions to accomplish this goal and position the company
for future growth and success,” the company said.
Dominion also announced December 24 that directors Fiona Perrott-Humphrey and Ollie Oliveira had resigned from the company’s board “for personal reasons.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tags:
Canada, Dominion Diamond Corp., K2 & Associates Investment Management, M&A, mergers and acquisitions, mining, Rapaport News, Rothschild & Co.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|