CALGARY – A director representing a major shareholder in oilsands producer MEG Energy Corp. says he has resigned because the board is failing to put the interests of the company first.
Daniel Farb, a managing director of Boston-based Highfields Capital Management, says positive changes made while he was on the board over the past eight months included selling the company’s stake in a pipeline and the retirement of over $1 billion in debt.
However, he adds in a news release that the board is “reverting back” to previous practices, resulting in him being unable to perform his role as a director.
John Rogers, MEG’s vice-president of investor relations, disputed the charges in an interview, noting MEG has “never been in a better place than it is today.”
In its release, Highfields says MEG has outstanding assets, technology and employees but its capital allocation and hedging record have been “abysmal” and its administration costs per barrel are nearly twice the average of its peers.
It says it is evaluating its options as MEG’s second largest shareholder with 9.9 per cent of its stock.
MEG co-founder Bill McCaffrey retired as CEO and as a director earlier this year.