An American activist investor who owns Parkland Gasoline Corp. urged to think about promoting or shutting down its Burnaby, BC refinery, mentioned Thursday it could withhold help from all Parkland Gasoline Corp. sitting administrators on the firm’s upcoming annual assembly.
New York-based Engine Capital LP, which owns a couple of two p.c stake in Parkland, mentioned the Calgary-based gasoline provider and marketer failed to deal with the considerations it raised in March. In a letter to the board on the time, Engine criticized the corporate for underperformance and urged it to think about divesting non-core belongings to grow to be a pure gasoline marketer and retailer.
Engine mentioned in a follow-up letter Thursday that he had met with Parkland’s chief monetary officer however was pissed off that he had not been provided a gathering with the corporate’s board as he had requested.
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“Engine has engaged with greater than 50 boards over the previous decade, and now we have by no means encountered a state of affairs the place one was so unresponsive,” Engine managing accomplice Arnaud Ajdler and accomplice Brad Favreau wrote within the letter.
“The response of an engaged and succesful board needs to be to interact with a serious shareholder, to not conceal behind its CFO.”
Engine mentioned it was additionally pissed off that Parkland as soon as once more nominated 24-year-old chairman Jim Pantelidis to the board, regardless of adopting a 10-year time period for administrators.
“This coverage ought to apply to all administrators, together with the corporate’s chairman, particularly provided that he has been on the board for almost 1 / 4 of a century,” Ajdler and Favreau mentioned.
“We subsequently name on the board to not renominate Mr. Pantelidis on the 2024 annual assembly.”
Engine was additionally vital of Parkland’s strategy to govt compensation. The activist investor famous that CEO Bob Espey’s complete direct compensation elevated 23 p.c in 2022 to $5.3 million.
“Mr. Espey’s compensation has persistently elevated over the previous couple of years because the enterprise has grown by way of M&A and grow to be extra advanced – the very points that harm shareholders,” Engine mentioned.
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Parkland, which has but to publicly reply to Engine’s newest techniques, is ready to carry its annual basic assembly on Could 4.
In March, Parkland mentioned it entered into an settlement with its largest shareholder, Simpson Oil Ltd., that may give it the correct to appoint as much as two nominees for election to Parkland’s board.
Simpson Oil owns greater than 19 p.c of Parkland inventory. Engine mentioned Thursday he would vote for the 2 board nominees appointed by Simpson.
Parkland purchased its Burnaby refinery — which refines 55,000 barrels per day of crude and artificial oil into gasoline, diesel, jet gasoline and extra — from Chevron Canada for $1.5 billion in 2017.
On the retail aspect, Parkland is among the quickest rising unbiased gasoline suppliers and entrepreneurs in North America, with a community of retail service stations throughout Canada, the northern US and the Caribbean.
Its On the Run comfort retailer model is predicted to have greater than 1,000 areas by 2024.
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