5 questions asked at Boart Longyear scheme meeting

February 26, 2024

Here is the text of the 5 questions lodged at the Boart Longyear scheme meeting held on February 21, 2024, to approve the takeover. All but one were censored and the meeting was done in less than 20 minutes.

Q1. Over the past 20 years, Boart Longyear has been controlled by Anglo American, private equity firms Bain & Advent, Macquarie, public company investors in Australia, US vulture fund Centerbridge and now American Industrial Partners. Anglo did well selling it for $US545m in 2005, Bain, Advent and Macquarie then all made good profits flipping it to public company investors in Australia but we've lost close to $4b on the exercise. Is the chairman prepared to offer an apology to investors for the wealth that has been destroyed?

Answer: question was censored.

Q2. How many shareholders were eligible to vote on today's takeover and how many did so by proxy. What sort of solicitation campaign did you run to maximise retail shareholder participation in today's vote?

Answer: the chair did not know. Listen to his response to the first half of the question before the censorship kicked in on this one too.

Q3. Did any of the 5 main proxy advisers Down Under - ACSI, Ownership Matters, Glass Lewis, ISS and ASA - recommend a vote on today's takeover? Thank you for disclosing the proxies early to the ASX with the formal addresses. Were any shareholders excluded from voting today due to a conflict of interest and why weren't retail shareholders also given the option of rolling into the bid vehicle?

Answer: question was censored.

Q4. Apart from taking more than $3 billion from public investors in Australia, Boart Longyear seems to have a tenuous connection to Australia. Are any of the current directors Australian? Is anyone from Australia participation in this meeting from the company side? Also, why is a Utah based company listed in Australia getting court approval for this takeover from Canadian courts?

Answer: question was censored.

Q5. Given the interesting discussions at today's meeting and the fact that more than 10,000 retail shareholders did not attend live, could the chair undertake to make an archived copy of the webcast available on the company's website, at least until the transaction completes?

Answer: question was censored but at least this archive of the 15 minute and 49 second meeting is available here, for now.

Search:

5 questions asked at Boart Longyear scheme meeting

February 26, 2024

Here is the text of the 5 questions lodged at the Boart Longyear scheme meeting held on February 21, 2024, to approve the takeover. All but one were censored and the meeting was done in less than 20 minutes.