Investors blast ‘terrible’ $12-million retirement deal for departing Goldcorp chair Ian Telfer – by Danielle Bochove and Anders Melin (Financial Post/Bloomberg News – March 14, 2019)

https://business.financialpost.com/

Telfer’s package to jump threefold if merger with Newmont goes through

A lucrative retirement package for the chairman of Goldcorp Inc. is raising the hackles of investors ahead of a key vote on the company’s planned merger with Newmont Mining Corp.

Ian Telfer’s retirement allowance will rise to roughly US$12 million from US$4.5 million if the miners merge, according to a regulatory filing from Vancouver-based Goldcorp, once the world’s largest gold miner by market value. Initially, the plan was for Telfer, 72, to join Newmont’s board as deputy chairman. On Tuesday, Goldcorp announced he wouldn’t accept the new job.

A group of investors tracking the merger welcomed the decision, but in an emailed statement said the two mining companies “have still failed to justify how the threefold increase in the payment to Mr. Telfer is in the best interests of their respective shareholders.”

Rich parachute payments granted to company leaders who may lose jobs following a merger sometimes come under fire from investors, but they rarely are controversial enough to scuttle a multi-billion dollar deal. Goldcorp investors are set to vote April 4; Newmont’s vote is April 11.

Goldcorp’s attempt to top-up its chairman’s retirement haul has met significant resistance. The stock has plummeted 75 per cent since its 2011 high, and the company fell short of almost every target when it last reported earnings.

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