SibCement minority shareholders call for BoD election recount

Minority shareholders of Russian producer OSJC Holding Company Sibcem have called for the board and relevant authorities to review the results of the Summer 2013 Board of Directors election results, according to a report by Moscow’s Globe Newswire.

A statement by the Siberian Cement Minority Shareholders’ Association (SCMSA) said that they believe that the votes were possibly miscounted and therefore rendered the outcome of the count inaccurate. "Minority shareholders did not get a single seat on the board of Siberian Cement, even though they had enough voting shares to elect two directors out of five," the statement said. The SCMSA has said it does not rule out taking legal action against Sibcem, should an initial investigation give cause for further concern.

Sibcem spokesperson Daria Martynkina, however, strongly refutes any claims of improper practice. “Of course, the candidates who were not elected are displeased,” Martynkina told International Cement Review. “They can use their legal right to appeal the results of the annual general meeting of shareholders. However, we have a reasonable belief that the enforcement of this right will lead to an abuse of it.”

The current developments are set against a background of disputes between Sibcem’s current management and ex-Sibcem president and SCMSA member, Andrey Muraviev. One dispute relates to the alleged mismanagement by Mr Muraviev, during his tenure as Sibcem president, of the company’s attempt to purchase the Turkish division of Ciments Francais in 2008. The deal never materialised, but a court subsequently ruled that Sibcem should still pay EUR5m in costs to its advisor ING Bank NV, forcing the company to report a loss in its annual results.