Concerned shareholders are pushing five new nominees for the board of Vancouver-based Western Wind Energy Corp. (TSX: WND), after the company announced plans to sell.
Western Wind announced July 29 that the board and CEO had decided that the company and its assets would immediately be made available for sale.
“Western Wind’s decision,” the company said in a statement, “was based on a compromise between the CEO’s plan of building the assets for another two years before contemplating a sale, and the consistent suffering our shareholders have endured by unregulated market participants trading the stock price down to levels that only serve to frustrate and ‘shake out’ retail investors.”
Company stock leapt 50% yesterday after the announcement of the sale, regaining much of the value it has lost this year.
But this morning, Savitr Capital LLC, an investment manager of funds and accounts with significant holdings in Western Wind, announced that it will nominate five new directors at the company’s annual general meeting September 25.
In its announcement, Savitr cited “the erratic press release of July 29, 2012” as one of the reasons for its move.
“This most recent announcement came without the customary disclosure of an investment bank retainer, the establishment of a special committee or any other real plan on how this sale would be accomplished,” Savitr’s statement said.
“Shareholders are now asked to trust the same board and management team that has refused to consider legitimate purchase offers in the past, has refused to negotiate with corporate buyers, and has not followed through with previously announced strategic reviews,” Savitr further claimed.
Savitr also lambasted what it termed Western Wind’s proposed “value-destroying acquisition” of Champlin/GEI Wind Holdings announced May 15, as well as the company’s “woeful share price performance.”
Western Wind’s stock price remained virtually unchanged this morning, down 1% from its significant jump yesterday.
