Telus Corp.’s largest shareholder announced October 12 that it had won a BC Court of Appeal decision that enables it to hold a meeting of the telecommunications company’s shareholders, overturning a BC Supreme Court decision last month.
U.S. hedge fund Mason Capital Management LLC has been sparring with Telus for months because the Vancouver-based company wanted to consolidate its voting and non-voting shares on a one-for-one basis.
The BC Supreme Court ruled in September that Mason Capital could not hold a meeting of Telus shareholders.
Telus had launched the court action earlier in the month, in response to Mason Capital trying to stop Telus’ proposed share consolidation.
Telus has a shareholder meeting set for October 17, where both voting and non-voting shareholders are eligible to vote on the share consolidation plan.
Following its latest victory, Mason has now applied to the court to postpone this Wednesday’s meeting, although it was unclear at press time whether it would win that fight.
“We are pleased by the court’s ruling, which fully vindicates our position that the voting shareholders of Telus should have the opportunity to vote on a fair exchange ratio share in a share collapse transaction,” Mason said in a press release.
“Telus has refused to consider the concerns of its voting shareholders and has demonstrated that it was prepared to go to almost any length to force through its one-to-one proposal.”
