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Daniel Farb Steps Down From MEG Energy Board Citing Direction of Firm

Daniel Farb Steps Down From MEG Energy Board Citing Direction of Firm

(Bloomberg) -- Daniel Farb has resigned from the board of MEG Energy Corp., saying he is concerned about the direction of the company.

Farb is a managing director at Highfields Capital Management, the Boston-based investment firm that owns a 9.9 percent stake in the oil and gas company. He was appointed to the board in December 2017, and said he no longer believed he could perform his role effectively.

“I served on the MEG Energy board for only eight months, yet I am pleased with many of the positive changes that were implemented during my tenure, including the sale of the Access Pipeline, the retirement of over C$1 billion ($760 million) of debt, and changes at senior levels of management,” Farb said in a statement.

A representative for Calgary-based MEG Energy said the company received Farb’s resignation and thanked him for his services on the board.

This, year, MEG Energy is the third best performer on the S&P/Toronto Stock Exchange Composite Index, rising 72 percent compared with 1.1 percent for the index. Since its July 2010 initial public offering, though, MEG Energy has fallen 75 percent and ranks as the index’s eighth worst performer.

Farb said he believed there was more to do at the company.

“Unfortunately, it is my conclusion that the board is intent on reverting back to a legacy of failing to put the best interests of the company and shareholders first,” he said.

Highfields said it believed MEG Energy trailed its peers, and that its capital allocation and hedging record was “abysmal.” It said it believed immediate action was required to reorganize to unlock value for shareholders.

“As MEG Energy’s second largest shareholder, Highfields will continually evaluate all options available to it,” it said.

--With assistance from Kevin Orland.

To contact the reporter on this story: Scott Deveau in New York at sdeveau2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Elizabeth Fournier at efournier5@bloomberg.net, Michael Hytha, Matthew Monks

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.