Mount Kellett Capital Management LP (“Mount Kellett”), the
largest shareholder of Baja Mining Corp. (TSX:BAJ) (OTCQX: BAJFF)
(“Baja” or the “Company”), today sent a letter and mailed its Proxy
Circular to Baja shareholders urging them to vote for two new
independent shareholder nominees at the Special Meeting of
Shareholders to be held on April 3, 2012. For more information on
how to vote, as well as access to other important materials, please
visit www.ShareholdersForBaja.com.
In the Proxy Circular, Mount Kellett highlights an ongoing
pattern of poor corporate governance and self-dealing at Baja, much
of it stemming from the conduct of its own chief executive officer,
Mr. John Greenslade. Mount Kellett requisitioned the Special
Meeting of Shareholders and is urging shareholders to take
immediate action and vote for two independent and highly qualified
director nominees – Mr. Stephen Lehner and Mr. Lorie Waisberg. Once
elected, Mr. Lehner and Mr. Waisberg will comprise a minority of
the Baja board and will work with the other directors to enhance
and maintain corporate governance and management oversight.
Mount Kellett Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Fiorello said,
“Mount Kellett is a strong believer in the potential of the Boleo
project, Baja’s high-grade, long-life copper asset. We
requisitioned a special meeting of Baja shareholders because we
have significant and well-founded concerns that the current board
and management have become distracted with their own personal
agendas and enrichment.
“We are particularly concerned that, at the cusp of bringing the
Boleo project online, Baja management intends to pursue a related
party transaction with a high-risk early stage copper company,
Catalyst Copper Corp. Catalyst’s principal attraction seems to be
its connection with select members of Baja’s management and board,
who own a combined 6 percent of Catalyst – far more than they own
of Baja itself.
“It is necessary for shareholders to act now to protect their
interests in Baja and the Boleo project. We are confident that the
election of our two experienced and independent director nominees
will secure the necessary oversight to protect shareholder value
and stop the pattern of poor governance and self-dealing at
Baja.”
Mount Kellett encourages shareholders to carefully review its
Letter to Baja Shareholders (included below) and the Proxy Circular
and vote only their BLUE proxy
in advance of the proxy voting deadline of March 30, 2012 at 7:00
am (Vancouver Time).
Voting Instructions: If you
have any questions and/or need assistance in voting your shares,
please call Kingsdale Shareholder Services at 1-888-518-1562 or
1-416-867-2272 (collect calls accepted).
Mount Kellett recommends that shareholders send a message to the
Board by voting only the BLUE
proxy:
- "FOR" the resolution to remove Giles Baynham
and Gerald Prosalendis as directors of Baja;
- "FOR" the resolution to increase the size of
the board to 9, making room for 2 new independent shareholder
nominees to join the board
- "FOR" the election of Stephen Lehner and
Lorie Waisberg as new independent directors of Baja to increase
governance and oversight on behalf of all shareholders; and
- "FOR" the stock option plan amendment
resolution to make the Baja stock option plan compliant with
recognized governance standards
In order to make their voices heard, shareholders are urged to
vote the BLUE proxy well in
advance of the proxy voting deadline of March 30, 2012 at 7:00 am
(Vancouver Time).
The full text of the letter follows:
February 22, 2012
Dear Fellow Shareholders:
Like you, Mount Kellett Capital Management LP ("Mount Kellett")
is a strong believer in the potential of Baja Mining Corp. ("Baja")
and the Boleo project, the company's large, high-grade, long-life
copper deposit located in Baja California Sur, Mexico. This primary
copper asset represents significant potential value for all
shareholders that support its development and growth. That is why
we have invested more than $80,000,000 in Baja.
The Success Of Baja's Boleo Project Should Be The Primary
Focus
We have asked for a shareholders’ meeting and are seeking your
support because we have significant and well-founded concerns that
the board and management have become distracted with their own
personal agendas and enrichment. They do so at a time when they
should maintain discipline and focus on the development and growth
of the Boleo project so that its full value can be realized.
We are particularly concerned that, at the cusp of bringing the
Boleo project online, Baja management intends to pursue a related
party transaction with a high-risk early stage copper company,
Catalyst Copper Corp. ("Catalyst"), which is listed on the TSX
Venture Exchange. Catalyst has optioned a speculative exploration
asset in Mexico that will likely cost hundreds of millions of
dollars to bring online. In fact, we understand that Baja
management has already sought approval to invest Baja's money in
this unproven enterprise – at a time when
Baja itself is not yet generating revenue.
Catalyst’s principal attraction seems to be its connection with
select members of Baja’s management and board, who own a combined 6
percent of Catalyst – far more than they own of Baja itself. Baja
CEO, Mr. John Greenslade, is also the CEO of Catalyst and a major
shareholder and director in the company – with compensation of
$300,000 in 2011 paid by Catalyst and a minimum $360,000 golden
parachute. Mr. Greenslade became CEO of Catalyst over the strong
objections of some of the prior members of Baja's board who were
subsequently not nominated for re-election at the 2011 Annual
General Meeting.
Shareholders Could Be Irreparably Harmed By Mr. Greenslade's
High-Risk Plans
Mr. Greenslade has stated that he wants Baja to pursue a
transaction with Catalyst. Such a course of action poses
significant risk to Baja's value and is rife with conflicts of
interest. Not only does Mr. Greenslade own over 10,000,000 shares
of Catalyst, which is more than he owns of Baja, but his daughter
Ms. Denby Greenslade (who is the interim CFO and Corporate
Secretary of Catalyst) would also stand to profit handsomely if
Baja was to acquire Catalyst. Mr. Gerald Prosalendis, a director at
both Baja and Catalyst, would also receive substantial rewards.
Indeed, should Baja acquire Catalyst, which it could do without
seeking shareholder approval, current Baja directors and officers
would stand to reap millions of dollars in gains.
We believe a transaction with Catalyst, in the absence of
independent board oversight, would result in an unfair and
unwarranted transfer of Baja's value to Catalyst insiders – who
also happen to be Baja insiders – and substantially increase Baja's
risk profile. The only low-risk aspect of such a transaction is the
significant financial reward that Mr. Greenslade and his family and
friends would receive from any such deal.
Two new independent directors who have an "owner driven mindset"
are urgently needed to ensure that any transaction brought by
management or an outside party is assessed solely on its potential
to create compelling and confirmed value for all Baja shareholders
and not just for its insiders.
The Baja Board Is Beholden To Mr. Greenslade
Our concerns regarding Catalyst are compounded by an ongoing
pattern of poor governance and self-dealing at Baja, much of which
stems from the conduct of its own CEO. Mr. Greenslade seems to have
unchecked influence over the current board because, we suspect,
either they are his long-time allies and are deeply entrenched to
his agenda, or because they are fearful to oppose him.
Consider the following:
- Interlocking and Handpicked
Directors - In May 2011, two long-time directors of Baja were
not nominated for re-election after, we understand, they objected
to Mr. Greenslade assuming the role of President, CEO and Director
of Catalyst. The objections of these directors are understandable
because Catalyst is a competitor and Baja requires and deserves
full-time management. The directors who challenged Mr. Greenslade's
behaviour were replaced by Mr. François Marland and Mr.
Prosalendis, who are interlocking directors with Mr. Greenslade at
Yukon-Nevada Gold Corp. and Catalyst, respectively. In addition,
another director handpicked by Mr. Greenslade was appointed to the
board, Mr. Giles Baynham. As we describe in detail in the Proxy
Circular, they have all demonstrated a pattern of looking out for
each other's interests.
- Stock Options for Loyalty -
After Messrs. Prosalendis, Marland and Baynham joined the board,
they were promptly appointed as the only 3 members of the Baja
Compensation Committee, which sets Mr. Greenslade's compensation.
At the first board meeting, just hours after the 2011 Annual
General Meeting at which shareholders approved a stock option plan
that was promoted by Mr. Greenslade as being essential to hire
senior management candidates and key personnel, Messrs.
Prosalendis, Marland and Baynham were awarded 2,250,000 options in
the aggregate. The awards to Messrs. Prosalendis, Marland and
Baynham are grossly disproportionate to what independent directors
would customarily receive and were certainly not awarded on merit
as they had yet to make any discernable contribution to the
company's success. Fully 43% of the options then available for
grant under the stock option plan went to Mr. Greenslade and his
friends on the board, with only 27% of those available going to the
actual operating management of Baja.
- Disregard of Baja Corporate
Charter - During the same month, Mr. Greenslade was named
chairman of Baja in breach of the company's own board charter,
which clearly states:
"[i]n order to carry out its fiduciary duty,
as well as its duty of care and loyalty to the Company and its
shareholders, the members of the Board will…annually appoint an
independent director as Chair of the Board."
In addition, we believe that Mr. Greenslade
used the support of his newly enriched friends to orchestrate a
separation of the nominating and governance committees. He was then
appointed to the Nominating Committee, which chooses directors to
serve on the board, further cementing his control over Baja. These
actions were a breach of the most basic of governance
principles.
- Conflicted, Under-qualified and
Overpaid Corporate Secretary - Ms. Kendra Low, one of Mr.
Greenslade's daughters, is Baja's Corporate Secretary. Ms. Low has
been unduly enriched by her father and the board. In 2010, Ms. Low
received the extraordinary compensation package of $725,000, and in
2011 was awarded an $800,000 golden parachute – making her one of the highest paid corporate secretaries
in Canada. She now has received options for a total of at
least 1,300,000 Baja common shares. Of course, her father's
majority-controlled Compensation Committee, who Mr. Greenslade
helped enrich through stock options, enhanced Ms. Low's
compensation package. Ms. Low continues in her position as
Corporate Secretary of Baja, notwithstanding the recent approval of
an anti-nepotism policy by the board after Mount Kellett first
raised the issue.
- Expanding Golden Parachutes -
The board continues to rubber-stamp Mr. Greenslade's enrichment
schemes. Mr. Greenslade's golden parachute was recently expanded by
$680,000 to $1,980,000. His daughter also recently received a 21%
increase in her salary and target bonus and a 42% increase in her
golden parachute.
These examples clearly show governance failures and Mr.
Greenslade's extraordinary influence over Baja's board – to the
point where, instead of the chief executive reporting to the
directors, as is normal practice, the board in effect reports to
Mr. Greenslade. We believe that under Mr. Greenslade’s command, the
board is turning a blind eye to self-dealing, condoning nepotism,
and failing in its fiduciary obligation to all shareholders.
The Board Fails To Understand That There Is A Problem
Case in point is the feeble reaction of the board to our
requisition for a special meeting of shareholders to elect two new
independent directors. In December 2011, we filed a requisition
seeking an expansion of the board, a cap on stock options and
several non-binding ordinary resolutions dealing with conflicts of
interest and improved independence practices, all to address
readily apparent corporate governance failings.
Baja's response was to publicly announce the adoption of select
policies to address some of the transgressions we brought to the
spotlight. However, this is the same board that condoned breaches
of its own corporate charter and allowed brand new directors to
enrich themselves with huge option grants. We reject the board
of Baja's announced governance initiatives as wholly inadequate to
prevent the continuation of the self-dealing, lack of independence
and poor oversight of the board. What shareholders need and
deserve are independent directors who will make sure that the board
functions as a proper steward on behalf of all
shareholders.
Shareholders Need To Take Action To Protect Their
Investment
The need for action is increasingly urgent. We believe that the
market value of the company does not reflect the substantial value
of the Boleo project. Failing to place truly independent,
determined individuals on the board could seriously jeopardize the
project's potential benefit to shareholders.
We propose the election of Mr. Stephen Lehner and Mr. Lorie
Waisberg, who will represent a small minority of the board, to help
ensure that the company is run for the good of all shareholders and
not for the private benefit of the CEO, his family and handpicked
directors. Messrs. Lehner and Waisberg, acting as true fiduciaries
for the company and not as pawns in what has effectively become Mr.
Greenslade's family office, will be in a position to bring
transparency, honesty, and ethics to all aspects of Baja's
business. Once elected, Mr. Lehner and Mr. Waisberg will work with
the other directors to enhance and maintain corporate governance
and management oversight. They will work for
all shareholders, large and small.
Mount Kellett Is NOT Pursuing A
Takeover Of Baja
As we publicly stated in our press release of February 13, 2012,
Mount Kellett is not interested in pursuing a takeover of Baja. We
have become a significant minority investor because of our
fundamental belief in the value of the Boleo project. We have twice
proposed to enter into standstill agreements, most recently in
January 2012, in exchange for appropriate governance changes at
Baja, but have not once received interest from the company. In
fact, if Mr. Greenslade had concerns about Mount Kellett’s
intentions, it is surprising that neither he nor the board
requested a standstill agreement as part of the public proposal
disclosed by Baja on January 12, 2012.
Baja's baseless smokescreen and fear mongering that Mount
Kellett is intending a creeping takeover is meant to distract
shareholders from the key issue: Baja's board has proven itself
incapable of providing good corporate governance or oversight of
management. The board has rejected true independent oversight and
has unfairly mischaracterized Mount Kellett's good faith actions to
protect value for all shareholders.
Elect Two New Independent Directors Committed To Acting In
Your Interest
We view Mr. Greenslade's desire to have Baja pursue a
transaction with Catalyst as extremely risky, particularly without
appropriate oversight by truly independent directors. It is now up
to all shareholders to protect their investment in Baja by electing
two new independent directors whose primary agenda will be to help
the company realize the full potential of the Boleo project and to
work with the board to reset, and then maintain, the company's
governance practices.
For more information please visit
www.ShareholdersForBaja.com.
We look forward to your support.
PLEASE VOTE YOUR BLUE PROXY IN
SUPPORT OF THE SHAREHOLDER NOMINEES.
Sincerely, /s/ Jonathan Fiorello Chief Operating Officer Mount
Kellett Capital Management LP
About Mount Kellett Capital Management LP
Mount Kellett is a multi-strategy private investment firm
focused on global value, special situations and opportunistic
investing. The firm has approximately 100 employees with offices in
New York, Hong Kong, London, and Mumbai. The firm currently has in
excess of $6 billion in assets under management.
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