Anaconda accuses Anglo of cloak-and-dagger tactics
May 2
Bruce Hextall
Anaconda's chief executive and founder, Mr Andrew Forrest, has accused the group's major shareholder, Anglo American, of underhanded tactics in the battle for control of the group by seeking to turn shareholders against him.
Mr Forrest claimed Anglo had pursued its own agenda by organising meetings of shareholders where it attempted to demonstrate that their best interests were not being served under the present management structure.
However, Anglo denied the allegations, including Mr Forrest's claim that some shareholders had been offered $50 to attend meetings concerning Anaconda's direction.
An Anglo spokeswoman said the company had engaged market researchers to conduct focus groups with Anaconda investors and claimed that such groups were commonplace. The $50 payment was to cover travel costs, she said.
"Focus groups seem to be a route that a lot of companies take," she said. "It's all open and upfront. I don't think there's anything strange in the way this was handled."
The meetings began in Perth yesterday involving 15 Anaconda retail shareholders. Additional meetings will also be held in Melbourne and Sydney comprising a total of about 50 people.
Anglo, the world's second-largest mining company after Alcoa, has a 25 per cent stake in Anaconda and is seeking to oust Mr Forrest and other directors from the board in a bid to have a greater say in the company's future direction.
Anglo, in documents posted on its internet website yesterday, said shareholders should remove Mr Forrest and other directors because they had missed production targets.
However, Mr Forrest pointed to a quarterly production report released yesterday showing Murrin Murrin's output in March at 2,659 tonnes of nickel and 163 tonnes of cobalt.
He said production for the month of April was expected to consolidate this improvement, "demonstrating the integrity of the company's ramp-up schedule".
Anaconda also said its unit cash operating costs fell to $US1.32/lb nickel during the quarter, with a 34 per cent rise in production. "Overall nickel recovery for the March quarter was 83 per cent, a significant improvement on the 74 per cent nickel recovery achieved in the December quarter," it said. "In March, an overall nickel recovery of 86 per cent was achieved."
Anaconda said that at March 31, 2001, cash and available facilities on hand were $68 million, with $23 million in free cash.
The Murrin Murrin project is 60 per cent owned and operated by Anaconda, while Glencore holds the remaining 40 per cent.
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