One of Hudbay’s biggest investors has continued a push to almost completely replace the company’s board of executives.
Waterton Global Resource Management, a private-equity firm that owns about 12 per cent of Hudbay, unveiled a presentation to investors last week detailing the company’s plan for Hudbay if their takeover succeeds.
Last month, Waterton announced a plan to nominate eight candidates for Hudbay’s 10-member board, including possible replacements for Hudbay’s existing CEO and chairman. The firm put forward former mining CEO Peter Kukielski and ex-Imperial Bank of Commerce CEO Richard Nesbitt for the positions for Hudbay CEO and chairman, currently occupied by former Flin Flonner Alan Hair and Alan Hibben.
In last week’s presentation, released one day before Hudbay’s fourth quarter results conference call, Waterton pledged that a new executive team could potentially boost share prices by 140 per cent.
Hair addressed the continued pressure from Waterton during Hudbay’s fourth quarter results release on Feb. 20, discussing the informal nominations without specifically mentioning the firm by name.
“I wanted to note that a shareholder has put forth a slate of candidates for selection at our annual meeting and released details of their claims against Hudbay,” said Hair. “Our board expects to provide a response in due course. The purpose of today’s call is to discuss our quarterly results and business outlook,” Hair said.
Waterton’s push to retool Hudbay’s board began in earnest last fall after the company announced it would purchase the assets of mining company Mason Resources, including the Ann Mason project in Nevada, as well as a potential purchase of Chilean mining company Mantos Copper. At that time, Waterton called for a special shareholders meeting with Hudbay’s board.
