https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Iamgold Corp.’s biggest shareholder is backing an activist investor’s efforts to overhaul the struggling Canadian gold company’s board of directors. Last week, RCF Management LLC called on Iamgold to toss out three of its existing directors, and replace them with candidates of its choosing, including installing Maryse Belanger, a 35-year mining industry veteran, as chair.
The Denver-based private equity firm said that urgent leadership change was necessary to address “massive value destruction and chronic underperformance” at the Toronto-based gold company. RCF, which owns a 5.2-per-cent stake in Iamgold, had already forced the ouster of long time chairman, Donald Charter, before its proxy battle became public.
Now Joe Foster, portfolio manager with New York-based fund management company VanEck, which has a 9.5-per-cent stake in Iamgold, is lending his support to RCF, and pleading with Iamgold to acquiesce to its demands.
“Iamgold has been mismanaged for many years,” Mr. Foster said in an interview. “It’s got some difficult assets, and management hasn’t been up to the task, and it just seems to be going from bad to worse.”
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