Parkland shareholder demands board shakeup as fuel refiner and retailer weighs sale

Lauren Krugel · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Mar 17, 2025 2:29 PM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

A shareholder successful Parkland Corp. is demanding a committee shakeup arsenic the Calgary-based substance refiner and retailer looks into putting itself up for sale.

Engine Capital LP, the New York activistic hedge money that owns 2.5 per cent of Parkland's stock, said successful a quality merchandise Monday that the existent committee cannot beryllium trusted to correspond investors' champion interests.

Engine, on with large shareholder Simpson Oil, had been calling connected Parkland to marque large changes and measurement strategical alternatives, including selling the full company.

Parkland rebuffed that request until earlier this month, erstwhile it said its intrinsic worth was not reflected successful its banal terms and it would formally reappraisal options that besides see a merger and plus income oregon purchases.

"Given its way grounds of indefensible behaviour, we were not amazed to spot the committee abruptly denote a reappraisal of strategical alternatives — thing it vehemently opposed antecedently — conscionable 2 months earlier the 2025 yearly meeting," Engine said successful the quality release.

"The information that Parkland's banal roseate simply six per cent connected the quality says it all: the marketplace doubts the board's existent intentions, judgement and competence to tally a existent process."

Parkland did not instantly respond to a petition for remark astir Engine's latest remarks.

Its shares were up astir 2 per cent successful midday trading astatine $36.84 connected the TSX.

Engine is calling for an overhaul of the Parkland board, including the assignment of shareholder representatives and qualified autarkic directors.

"Parkland should not walk further shareholder superior to defy overdue change," it said. "As a semipermanent capitalist successful Parkland, we judge that the committee should enactment with — alternatively of against — its largest shareholders to maximize value."

Engine accused the Parkland committee of wasting shareholder wealth connected a tribunal lawsuit to effort to forestall the company's biggest shareholder, Cayman Islands-based Simpson Oil, from voting against directors oregon immoderate of their recommendations, providing its ownership was supra 5 per cent.

The restrictions connected Simpson besides included soliciting oregon making its ain bid for the company.

Simpson, which owns conscionable nether 20 per cent of Parkland's shares, sued past twelvemonth to overturn those restrictions and successful February, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice recovered successful its favour. Simpson directors resigned from the committee amid the dispute.

In announcing its strategical reappraisal connected March 5, Parkland said it would invitation Simpson Oil to rejoin its committee and instrumentality portion successful the peculiar committee that's reviewing imaginable moves to boost the stock price.

In its quality merchandise Monday, Engine said Parkland's committee refused to prosecute with a "credible strategical enactment who reportedly submitted a premium takeover connection successful the summertime of 2023."

Engine besides took purpose astatine what it describes arsenic Parkland's fiscal underperformance, anemic engagement with shareholders and mediocre execution of plus sales.

The money said the committee has failed to clasp Parkland CEO Bob Espey accountable.

"While astir the full elder absorption squad has turned implicit during the past 5 years, Mr. Espey is inactive moving the amusement aft much than a decennary of important underperformance," it said.