RE:RE:An Open Letter to the Torstar Voting TrustHi Modulex,
You are not alone in your frustration with Torstar and dual class share structures in general. The conventional argument is we all knew this when we bought our non-voting shares and we are told by the Honderichs and Peladeaus of this world to sell them if you are unhappy with the governance of the company or don't buy them in the first place. That would be my speculation as to why investors are selling at current prices. Either they are so frustrated they have decided to take their losses and move on, or the smart ones are covering their shorts upon which they made plenty of money.
I don't know what the implication or ramifications would be if Fairfax, Mackenzie and Canso who own 40% of the B shares made a public offer to take Torstar private. If for instance they launced a publicly disclosed bid of $5.50 for all A and B shares how would the Board and Voting Trust respond? So far they have decided to play nicely and wait for common sense to prevail, but there should be a limit to their patience.
If I were advising Fairfax, I would tell them to give the new CEO a year to assess the situation and formulate a plan. Upon review if they deem the plan is inadequate I would go public with an offer in advance of next years AGM. This would ratchet up the pressure on Honderich to deliver something more than colourful tales about Canada's national park system. He needs to held accountable for the massive value destruction on his watch as per my letter to the Voting Trust of August 10th.
Debacles like Star Touch with absolutely no one held accountable for the waste of at least $25 million is incomprehensible. It is chalked up to a noble experiment. It cost each shareholder about a quarter of the current share value. Nothing noble or worthy about this experiment with our money. Off with their empty heads I say!