On July 4, 2012, the Ontario Securities Commission (the
"OSC") issued a cease-trade order with respect to a
shareholder rights plan (the "Shareholder Rights Plan")
put in place by Thirdcoast Limited ("Thirdcoast") in
response to an unsolicited takeover bid by its largest shareholder,
Parrish & Heimbecker, Limited ("P&H").
The battle for Thirdcoast, a reporting issuer in Ontario whose
shares are mainly traded over-the-counter, began in response to the
passing of a law which will end the effective monopoly of the
Canadian Wheat Board on August 1, 2012. The law will allow grain
suppliers to set their own prices and quantities of the grain they
sell, leaving food producers, such as P&H, scrambling to ensure
an adequate supply of grain is in place when the law comes into
effect. P&H's interest in Thirdcoast stems from a highly
profitable grain terminal it owns and operates in Goderich,
Ontario.
