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ARTICLE · 12 FEBRUARY 2015

Lessons From The Aberdeen Proxy Battle

Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
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In the continuing trend of small-cap proxy contests in Canada, Aberdeen International mounted a successful defense to activist investor Meson Capital Partners’ aggressive and highly publicized attack.

CanadaCorporate/Commercial Law
Jeremy Fraiberg
Jeremy Fraiberg
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In the continuing trend of small-cap proxy contests in Canada, Aberdeen International mounted a successful defense to activist investor Meson Capital Partners' aggressive and highly publicized attack.

In December 2014, Aberdeen, a $14 million market cap company with a portfolio of investments in junior mining companies, was the subject of a proxy fight initiated by Meson Capital, a San Francisco based hedge fund and owner of approximately 5% of Aberdeen's shares. Meson Capital was critical of a number of alleged related party transactions involving Aberdeen and entities associated with its Chairman and CEO. Meson Capital also criticized Aberdeen's allegedly "lavish" compensation practices at a time when the company was experiencing losses and declining stock price.

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