Legendary financier and philanthropist Sam Belzberg turns 83 years old later this month but he’s not winding down his business activities.
“I’ve seen too many people retire and die six months later,” Belzberg told Business in Vancouver last week. “I’m a believer that you’ve got to use your brain a little bit. That keeps your body alive.”
Far from slowing down, Belzberg is plotting a boardroom coup at Bennett Environmental Inc. (TSX:BEV) because, he said, the board has “not done anything to enhance shareholder value.” (See “Financier-philanthropist sparks boardroom battle” – issue 1129; June 14-20.)
Some of his gripes are that the soil remediation company:
- is attempting, without a shareholder vote, to ram through a merger that is “dilutive, high-risk and non-arm’s length”;
- has not made any “value-enhancing” acquisitions despite declaring two years ago its intention to make some;
- paid a director $93,000 in 2010 and $50,000 so far this year to draft letters of intent and perform due diligence – a situation that, he believes, taints the independence necessary to sit on the board.
Bennett’s CEO, Jack Shaw, dismissed Belzberg’s complaints and told BIV that he was “offended” at the language that Belzberg used in a letter to shareholders.
Belzberg wants to install a slate of directors that includes:
- Farris Vaughan Wills and Murphy LLP partner Mitchell Gropper;
- Greenstone Venture Partners partner Livia Mahler;
- McMillan LLP partner John Reynolds;
- Second City managing director Jamie Farrar; and
- Toronto private equity expert Ian Kidson.
Shareholders have until June 24 to have their proxy votes received by the company. A meeting will then be held June 29.
Belzberg built First City Financial Corp. into what was reported to be a $7 billion company before leaving in 1991. He has both a personal holding company and an investment company, Second City Capital Partners, that involves other investors.
He is quick to say he is not a billionaire. He has, however, given several $1 million donations to Simon Fraser University.
First, it was so the university could create the Samuel and Frances Belzberg Library. More recently he donated $1 million to the university’s Wosk Centre and $1 million to its new SFU Woodward’s campus.
Glen Korstrom
Twitter: GlenKorstrom