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Monday, Feb 25, 2013 11:15 PM UTC

Ex-gov, hedge fund target Mont. mining company

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Topics: From the Wires,

Ex-gov, hedge fund target Mont. mining companyFILE - In this Nov. 2, 2012 file photo, provided by Stillwater County News, two rail cars bring 30 tons of muck out of the Stillwater Mining Co. mine in Nye, Mont. In February 2013, former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer is partnering with a New York hedge fund to launch a proxy battle for control of Stillwater, a precious metals mining company that’s been criticized for sinking millions of dollars into foreign acquisitions. Drawing parallels with Montana’s Anaconda Mining Company, a copper industry giant that cratered after much of its foreign assets were taken over by the Chilean government, Schweitzer says he’s intervening to save Stillwater from a similar fate owing to questionable investments in copper in Argentina and platinum in Canada. (AP Photo/Stillwater County News, Marlo Provonost, File)(Credit: AP)

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A former Montana governor considered a dark horse candidate for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination has joined a hedge fund’s attempt to take control of the state’s largest publicly-owned mining company.

Less than two months out of office, Democrat Brian Schweitzer said he’s intervening to save Stillwater Mining Co. from questionable foreign expansion plans he says could leave its 1,500 Montana jobs at risk.

A New York-based hedge fund, the Clinton Group, submitted formal notice to Stillwater on Monday of its bid to oust the precious metals company’s board of directors. If Schweitzer and the Clinton Group can persuade enough investors to support them, the current board would be replaced with a new slate that includes Schweitzer.

The hostile takeover bid answers, at least in part, what’s next for the effusive ex-governor.

That question has been on the lips of many political pundits, with Schweitzer demurring and never completely stamping out speculation of anything from a primary challenge to Democratic Sen. Max Baucus in 2014 to a long-shot bid for his party’s 2016 presidential nomination.

But the 57-year-old former governor brushed aside questions about his political future in an interview. For now, he said he’s committed to reviving the fortunes of one of Montana’s most high-profile companies.

“I’ve got some time on my hands and I’d like to help turn this company around. It’s an important company to Montana and it’s an important company to me,” Schweitzer said. “You’ve got a company that’s draining its equity, and you can’t run a mine if you don’t have any money and don’t have equity.”

Stillwater spokesman John Beaudry referred questions to company executives, who did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press seeking comment.

The Billings-based company operates the only platinum and palladium mines in the U.S., deep beneath southern Montana’s rugged Beartooth Mountains.

Buoyed by high precious metals prices, Stillwater made two major purchases in recent years that executives said were designed to diversify its holdings. Those purchases were a palladium and gold reserve in Canada, worth $118 million when it was announced, and a copper and gold reserve in the Andes of Argentina initially valued at $450 million.

The company has since revealed that the palladium content of the Canadian reserve was overestimated. And the copper deposit in Argentina could cost up to $2.5 billion to develop, a questionable prospect in a country with unsettled politics that have prompted other companies to stay out, Schweitzer said.

Stillwater last year sold a 25 percent stake in the Canadian reserves, known as Marathon, to Mitsubishi Corp. for $81 million. It said mining is likely to begin in 2017.

Without a change in course, the governor said, Stillwater potentially faces the same fate that befell Montana’s legendary Anaconda Mining Co. That copper industry giant cratered after the Chilean government took over much of its foreign assets in the 1970s, leading to large-scale layoffs among Montana miners.

The former Montana governor owns 25,000 shares of Stillwater, worth roughly $325,000 at current prices, according to documents provided by the Clinton Group. He bought the stock after leaving office, between Jan. 23 and Feb. 20.

The Clinton Group holds almost 1.3 million shares, giving it a 1 percent stake in the company.

On Monday, Stillwater shares dropped 14 cents on the New York Stock Exchange to $12.85, a loss of about 1 percent.

The overwhelming majority of the platinum and palladium mined by the company is used by automotive companies in catalytic converters, which help control pollution.

Schweitzer said he wants the company to consider putting the foreign assets up for sale, particularly its property in Argentina. That comes after the Clinton Group in a December letter called for the retirement of Stillwater Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Frank McAllister.

Schweitzer said his interest in Stillwater was first sparked by news of that letter, which prompted him to contact the hedge fund soon after leaving office.

The company’s stock price has dropped by about two-thirds since it hit a high of $40 in March 2000.

The stock generally tracks with precious metals prices, but fell sharply after the 2011 purchase of Peregrine Metals and its assets in the Andes of Argentina.

For the takeover bid to succeed, Schweitzer and the Clinton group will have to convince other company investors to get on board.

But the reaction to the Peregrine purchase could be a signal of what’s to come, said Rick de los Reyes, who manages an investment fund at T. Rowe Price Group that holds Stillwater shares.

“The type of asset they went after makes no sense,” de los Reyes said of the Peregrine purchase. “It’s not in their primary business. It’s a completely undeveloped area in the far reaches of Argentina, with no power, no water. The nature of that is just ridiculous for a company that’s been focused on a palladium mine in Montana.”

He said frustration with company management has been widespread.

Directors at Stillwater currently make about $200,000 a year, a compensation level that Clinton Group Manager Gregory Taxin said was reasonable given the company’s size.

Taxin said Schweitzer was not being paid to be a nominee nor as a consultant, although the former governor would be paid as a director if the corporate takeover is successful.

More By Matthew Brown.

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