The National Post reportsNP says HudBay dissidents have same plan as management
2009-03-18 08:00 ET - In the News
The National Post reports in its Wednesday edition that even though a failed acquisition inspired a group of dissidents to try and take control of the board at HudBay Minerals, they appear more focused than ever on growing the company by that route. The Post's Peter Koven writes the nominees of dissident shareholder SRM Global Master Fund faced the public for the first time Tuesday on a conference call. Former chief executive officer Peter Jones said the board will focus "intensely" on acquisitions in its first three months on the job. "I would certainly be disappointed if we can't identify targets in the first six months," he said. He made the point the deals need to have "good business sense," and slammed the current board for paying too much for the Fenix nickel project (which was quickly mothballed) and for Lundin Mining. The Lundin offer failed, but it left HudBay with a 19.9-per-cent interest in the company that was purchased at a premium to the current stock price. That offer inspired SRM to oust the board. Mr. Jones was pushed out of HudBay by the current board after he failed to jump on acquisitions at the top of the cycle during his time as CEO. Today, he feels that his prudence is vindicated.