TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Nov. 20, 2014) - Aberdeen International Inc. (TSX:AAB) ("Aberdeen" or the "Company") today responds to the material inaccuracies and false allegations in the public letter disseminated by Meson Capital Partners LLC ("Meson Capital") on November 18, 2014. In particular:
- The $2,000,000 private placement financing previously announced on November 11, 2014 is not substantially subscribed by insiders. Insiders have subscribed for approximately 19.1% of the financing, which equals $382,000. Each insider has only participated for their pro rata shareholding percentage and thus no insider will increase their percentage interest in the Company as a result of this financing. This level of insider participation is well below the permitted guidelines of the TSX. Further, Aberdeen confirms the private placement has been fully subscribed. Allegations by Meson Capital that the Company's private placement violates the rules of the TSX are categorically untrue, misleading and ultimately prejudicial to the business of the Company.
- The first time the Company was made aware of Meson Capital's interest in the private placement financing was the evening of November 16, 2014. In its letter to the Company, Meson Capital proposed non-binding terms to acquire shares pursuant to a private placement and stated: "We have significantly increased our stake in the last two months as we believe that the upcoming liquidity event with Landmark should provide numerous shareholder-friendly capital allocation opportunities." Meson Capital has never provided the Company with a binding term sheet or commitment to finance. Further, from its November 16, 2014 letter it became apparent to us that Meson Capital was acting in an opportunistic manner with an ultimate view to disrupting and altering the business activities of the Company for its own selfish benefit and without regard to the interests of Aberdeen or its other shareholders. Aberdeen has always maintained, as set out in its press release dated September 16, 2014 announcing the non-binding term sheet with Landmark, that substantially all of the proceeds from the transaction would be used for future investments in pre-IPO and/or public resource companies, in keeping with its business model.
- African Thunder Platinum was formed to acquire certain platinum/palladium assets in South Africa. African Thunder Platinum is not a related party of Aberdeen. These allegations by Meson Capital are completely false. Great Lakes Capital is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aberdeen. Aberdeen currently has two representatives on the board of African Thunder Platinum to ensure that its interests are protected as the Company is incubated and developed. Aberdeen further confirms that no officer, director, employee or consultant of Aberdeen has any economic interest or exposure to African Thunder.
The Company believes it is in the best interest of shareholders to remain focused on its current business activities and investment opportunities rather than responding to these materially inaccurate and false allegations. However, given the potentially damaging effects of the actions of Meson Capital, management believes it is important to correct the public record so shareholders are not misled by these inaccurate statements.
We intend to continue to serve the best interests of our shareholders by focusing on our current business activities and investment opportunities.
About Aberdeen International Inc:
Aberdeen is a publicly traded global investment and merchant banking company focused on small cap companies in the resource sector. Aberdeen will seek to acquire significant equity participation in pre-IPO and/or early stage public resource companies with undeveloped or undervalued high-quality resources. Aberdeen will focus on companies that: (i) are in need of managerial, technical and financial resources to realize their full potential; (ii) are undervalued in foreign capital markets; and/or (iii) operate in jurisdictions with low to moderate local political risk. Aberdeen will seek to provide value-added managerial and board advisory services to companies.
For additional information, please visit our website at www.aberdeeninternational.ca and follow us on Facebook and Twitter: AberdeenAAB.
Cautionary Note
Except for statements of historical fact contained herein, the information in this press release constitutes "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities law. Such forward-looking information may be identified by words such as "plans", "proposes", "estimates", "intends", "expects", "believes", "may", "will" and include without limitation, statements regarding the ability to complete the proposed private placement, proposed use of proceeds, the business activities of the Company and possible investment opportunities, the potential of certain investments, the ability of the Company to generate additional value for shareholders, the ability of the Company to enter into a definitive agreement with respect to announced transactions and close such transactions, and past success as an indicator of future success. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate; actual results and future events could differ materially from such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others, metal prices, competition, financing risks, acquisition risks, risks inherent in the mining industry, regulatory risks and other risks described in Aberdeen's annual information form. Most of these factors are outside the control of the Company. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as otherwise required by applicable securities statutes or regulation, the Company expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.