Russia focused gold miner Petropavlovsk PLC on June 8 warned shareholders about a group of owners pushing for a board overhaul at the next annual general meeting.
Following a requisition by CABS Platform Ltd. and Slevin Ltd., which hold a 9.11% interest in the gold miner, to remove all existing directors and appoint former board members, Petropavlovsk launched an investigation to ascertain the identity of the ultimate owners of the companies.
"The board continues to be mystified by the extraordinary lengths at which the requisitioners are going to conceal the true source of control behind these offshore shell vehicles that invested only three months ago," the company said in a statement, adding that this secrecy should "raise several concerns for shareholders" ahead of the June 29 meeting.
Petropavlovsk asked the two companies to disclose the details of their shareholder structure. Responding to the request, CABS confirmed that Cyprus-registered Patia Trading Ltd., which holds shares in the company, has five unrelated trust beneficiaries, each with a 20% interest.
They include Evgeny Khata, Viktoriya Grynova, Erika Gordisheva, Yulia Mangusheva and Mikhail Volkov.
Petropavlovsk said it did not believe that these individuals were the ultimate owners behind CABS, adding that this latest shareholder disclosure represents yet another veil of secrecy concealing the true identity of the dissident shareholders.
"The board is looking further into the identities of these individuals and their backgrounds, and we will update shareholders if we are able to achieve more clarity," the company said.
The requisition, filed May 9 by the two companies, calls for the ouster of all existing directors and the appointment of former board members Pavel Maslovskiy, Roderic Lyne and Robert Jenkins in their stead.
