West Face Capital Inc., which led a shareholder rebellion in
2010, has sold its 16 million shares in Maple Leaf Foods Inc.
Rather than dismiss chief executive Michael McCain and the entire
board of directors, Greg Boland persuaded McCain to transform the company by
selling non-core assets and investing in centralizing and modernizing its meat
processing business.
McCain, who bought the shares held by Ontario Teachers
Pension Plan when it wanted out, owns 33 per cent of the shares.
Since Boland became a director on the board, Maple Leaf has
sold it Rothsay Concentrates Rendering, its turkey farms and processing plant
at Thamesford, its Canada Bread division to Bimbo Bakery for $1.8 billion and
its Oliviera pasta business.
The plan unveiled in 2011 called for an investment of $560
million in a new meat-processing plant at Hamilton. Those costs have since
topped $1 billion and the company has lost money in five of its most recent six
quarters.
McCain says the company’s costs have been high because it’s
opening the new facility while continuing operations in some of the old
facilities, chief among them the Schneider Corp. plant in downtown Kitchener
which is scheduled to close in December.
West Face is now investing in Globealive Wireless Management
Corp. which is trying to buy Wind mobile.
