Egan-Jones Recommends Shareholders Vote for All Stillwater Board Nominees on WHITE Proxy Card
Stillwater Mining Company (NYSE:SWC) (TSX:SWC.U) (“Stillwater” or the
“Company”) today announced that independent proxy advisory firm
Egan-Jones Proxy Services ("Egan-Jones"), recommends that shareholders
vote for all of Stillwater’s Board nominees on the WHITE proxy card at
the Company’s 2013 Annual Shareholders Meeting, which will be held on
May 2, 2013. Egan-Jones provides proxy voting advisory services to
institutions and other professional investors.
Frank McAllister, Stillwater’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
said, “We are pleased with Egan-Jones' recommendation. As evidenced by
our strong operating performance and cost management in the first
quarter of 2013, Stillwater is well positioned to create long-term value
for our shareholders. This is particularly important given the negative
impact of the current environment on other commodity classes and their
respective mining companies. With stable production, funded growth and
flexibility, Stillwater is committed to maximizing its exposure to the
PGM price, palladium in particular. Our current Board has the right
combination of skills, experience and expertise to oversee the continued
execution of our strategic plan and we urge shareholders to support the
Company's nominees and vote the white proxy today.”
In making its recommendation, Egan-Jones notes the following:
“We believe that support for voting the management ballot is merited
and that voting the management ballot (WHITE PROXY CARD) is in the best
interest of the Company and its shareholders. In arriving at the
conclusion, we have considered the following factors:
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Our belief that the case made by the dissidents for how it is
that, if elected, they would achieve better financial results than
the current board, is unpersuasive.
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We are not convinced that election of the dissidents’ nominees
to the board of directors would work to the benefit of
shareholders.
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3.
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We also note that it is our opinion that, as a group, the
dissidents lack skills and experience relevant to the Company and
its business, and therefore suffer by comparison with the members
of the current board and nominees.
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There is a single slate, the nominee appears qualified and we
recommend that clients vote “FOR” the Board’s nominees for reasons
stated above.
We also note the presence of the key Board committees namely the
Audit, Compensation and Corporate Governance/Nomination Committees
comprised solely of independent outside directors. Moreover, each
director attended at least 95% of all the meetings of the board and of
the committees during the previous fiscal year.”
We believe that the Company’s compensation policies and procedures
are centered on a competitive pay-for-performance culture, strongly
aligned with the long-term interest of its shareholders and necessary to
attract and retain experienced, highly qualified executives critical to
the Company's long-term success and the enhancement of shareholder value.
All shareholders of record as of March 6, 2013 are entitled to vote at
the 2013 Annual Shareholders Meeting on May 2, 2013. Stillwater
encourages all shareholders to carefully review its definitive proxy
filing and other materials and vote only their WHITE proxy card. For
more information about Stillwater’s 2013 Annual Shareholders Meeting,
please visit www.supportstillwater.com.
About Stillwater Mining Company
Stillwater Mining Company is the only U.S. producer of palladium and
platinum and is the largest primary producer of platinum group metals
outside of South Africa and the Russian Federation. The Company’s shares
are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWC and on
the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol SWC.U. Information on
Stillwater Mining Company can be found at its website: www.stillwatermining.com.
Some statements contained in this news release are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of
1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended, and, therefore, involve uncertainties or risks that
could cause actual results to differ materially. These statements may
contain words such as "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects,"
"intends," "projects", "estimates," "forecast," "guidance," or similar
expressions. These statements are not guarantees of the Company's future
performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other important
factors that could cause our actual performance or achievements to
differ materially from those expressed or implied by these
forward-looking statements. Such statements include, but are not limited
to, comments regarding expansion plans, costs, grade, production and
recovery rates, permitting, financing needs, the terms of future credit
facilities and capital expenditures, increases in processing capacity,
cost reduction measures, safety, timing for engineering studies, and
environmental permitting and compliance, litigation, labor matters and
the palladium and platinum market. Additional information regarding
factors, which could cause results to differ materially from
management's expectations, is found in the section entitled "Risk
Factors" in the Company's 2012 Annual Report on Form 10-K and in
subsequent filings with the United States Securities & Exchange
Commission. The Company intends that the forward-looking statements
contained herein be subject to the above-mentioned statutory safe
harbors. Investors are cautioned not to rely on forward-looking
statements. The Company disclaims any obligation to update
forward-looking statements.
