Letters to the Editor Deal upsets shareholder

As a minority shareholder of both Flanagan McAdam Resources and Muscocho Exploration, I write to express my extreme displeasure with the deal made by these companies and Echo Bay Mines, the largest shareholder of both firms. In my opinion, the parties involved have shown disregard for the rights and welfare of minority shareholders and I question their ability to simultaneously negotiate impartially for both sides.

Fortunately, the deal is subject to regulatory approval and I urge minority shareholders to write to the Ontario Securities Commission and request that the OSC block the transaction or, at the very least, order a shareholders’ vote of the deal by minority shareholders, e.g., excluding the management of Flanagan McAdam, Muscocho and Echo Bay.

Secondly, I suggest that shareholders go back to the brokers, investment advisers, and newsletters that advised them to buy Flanagan McAdam and Muscocho and ask for their support in fighting this bad deal and perhaps to present a dissenting opinion on the “fairness” of it.

Small shareholders demand, and are entitled to, protection from a large shareholder with different interests. OSC, the time has come for you to send a clear signal that this type of non-arm’s-length deal is unacceptable. Silence on your part will only encourage and condone more deals of this nature to the detriment of the small shareholder. Maurice Bort Hampstead, Que.