Two members of the Rogers family have filed a petition to B.C.’s Supreme Court for board documents relating to the telecom company.
The Globe and Mail reports that Melinda Rogers-Hixon and Martha Rogers believe the company is withholding information relating to the $26-billion Shaw takeover from them. The two sisters sit on Rogers’ board of directors, and they say the lack of access stops them from completing their jobs.
“Shareholders have a reasonable expectation that the company will be governed by all properly elected members of the board, and that the company will not limit or exclude the participation of any director,” the court filing reads. “Shareholders should not suffer from directors being unable to exercise informed decision-making power as a result of unfair board practices.”
The petition states the sisters need access to the information before board meetings scheduled in early November and are asking the court to act quickly.
As The Globe notes, the filing is a “re-escalation” of a family conflict that also previously involved B.C.’s Supreme Court and saw the ousting of former CEO Joe Natale. Tony Staffieri, the company’s former CFO, took the top job with the support of Edward Rogers, the chair of the board of directors.
“There was a clear conflict with the choice of legal counsel, so we took reasonable steps to protect commercially sensitive information from a major competitor. The petitioners could have resolved this issue at any time by selecting different legal counsel, and they chose not to do so,” a Rogers spokesperson said in a statement.
“This matter should be resolved privately. We’ve demonstrated that we will not be distracted by these actions — we have significant momentum in the market, our merger is tracking ahead of plan, and we remain squarely focused on doing what’s right for our customers and stakeholders,” the statement continued.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Natale and Rogers are also engaged in a separate legal battle.
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Source: B.C. court services Via: The Globe and Mail
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