Mr.
Peter Kukielski reports
WATERTON RELEASES PRESENTATION DETAILING NEW STRATEGY TO MAXIMIZE SHAREHOLDER VALUE AT HUDBAY
Waterton Global Resource Management Inc. (collectively with Waterton
Precious Metals Fund II Cayman, LP, Waterton Mining Parallel Fund
Offshore Master LP and certain other affiliates -- "Waterton"), which owns approximately 12 per cent of the issued and outstanding shares
of Hudbay Minerals Inc., has published a comprehensive presentation
detailing a path forward for Hudbay to recognize its potential. Waterton
highlights that with the right leadership and a truly independent board
of directors with the necessary expertise, Hudbay will be able to close
the existing valuation gap to its peer group (1), resulting in
meaningful share price appreciation.
The full presentation can be viewed at on the new Hudbay website.
Key highlights from the presentation include:
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The current Hudbay is broken due to its deep-rooted problems:
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Hudbay's current leadership team has proven unable to effectively
run a global mining company, resulting in abysmal one-year, three-year
and five-year total shareholder returns relative to its peer
group, negative 35 per cent, negative 66 per cent and negative 71 per cent, respectively (2). Hudbay's
chronic underperformance and significantly discounted valuation is
a direct consequence of its:
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Flawed strategy: The company has a myopic short-term
strategy that does not translate into shareholder value in a
remarkably long-term industry.
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Damaged credibility: Leadership consistently misguides
the market and fails to deliver on stated portfolio
objectives, undermining stakeholder trust.
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Broken culture: The current board has presided over
almost a decade of gross underperformance and failed to hold
management to account.
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New Hudbay has outlined a clear corporate strategy:
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New Hudbay will build a mid-tier base metals company that aims to
deliver long-term shareholder value with a focus on the Americas.
New Hudbay will execute on its strategy by:
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Having trusted leadership:
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A new board with relevant, diverse and global experience
to fill the knowledge gaps on the current board and
transform Hudbay into a world-class intermediate copper
company.
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Richard Nesbitt as proposed chairman, a tenacious
"blue-chip" leader who has led some of Canada's largest
and most important institutions and has proven experience
revamping companies' strategic direction and culture.
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Peter Kukielski as proposed chief executive officer, a proven and respected
leader with global mining experience and a record of
creating shareholder value.
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Adopting a culture of accountability:
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Ensure management is held to account and fully aligned
with shareholders.
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Having a disciplined approach to capital allocation:
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Ensure that capital is allocated in accordance with a
defined strategy, with a focus on return on capital.
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Optimizing its portfolio:
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Undertake a holistic portfolio review and implement an
optimization plan to maximize long-term shareholder value.
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Being performance focused:
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Set transparent and value accretive performance objectives
and, most importantly, deliver on them.
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The clear objective is to achieve long-term share price
appreciation.
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With the new leadership team at the helm and by executing on its
clearly defined strategy, Hudbay can win back the trust of the
capital markets and close the valuation gap to its peer
group -- allowing shareholders to benefit from a material increase in
the share price.
Waterton is asking its fellow shareholders to elect an independent board
with impeccable credentials, relevant skills and a record of
success -- including a proposed chief executive officer with global mining experience -- to
redefine a New Hudbay with a clear corporate strategy and a focus on
creating long-term shareholder value. Waterton looks forward to
effecting immediate, and critically necessary, change at the 2019 annual
meeting in order to achieve greater accountability, transparency and
value for all Hudbay stakeholders.
About Waterton
Waterton is an investment firm that manages capital for global
institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds and endowments. The firm
has about $2-billion (U.S.) in assets under management and focuses solely on the
metals and mining sector. Waterton has a culture of thoroughness and a
disciplined approach to capital allocation, and utilizes its significant
industry expertise to produce outsized risk-adjusted returns.
(1) Waterton believes an appropriate peer group for Hudbay
should only include companies that (i) have a market capitalization of
greater than $500-million (U.S.); (ii) have material exposure to the
Americas; (iii) have copper comprising greater than 50 per cent of reserves, and
(iv) are publicly listed on a major stock exchange, and not the peer
group described in Hudbay's public disclosure.
(2) TSR calculated as of Oct. 4, 2018, the last trading day
before Waterton first issued a public letter to Hudbay's board of
directors.
We seek Safe Harbor.
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