Two Groups Work Together to Force Crocus Meeting

In a joint statement issued on April 28, Darlene Dziewit, President of the Manitoba Federation of Labour, and Bernie Bellan, founder of the Crocus Investor's Association, announced that they intend to file a formal request for a Crocus Shareholders meeting with Delloitte & Touche, the court appointed receiver of Crocus Investment Fund. The two groups pushed for a shareholders' meeting in early march to consider an offer to purchase the Fund presented by GrowthWorks Ltd.

They agreed to delay using their statutory right to call for a shareholders meeting to allow the receiver time to consult with GrowthWorks. Little progress has been made since then, and both the MFL and the Investor's Association have become concerned over the fact that Deloitte & Touche has stated that it is its desire to sell off as much as 70 per cent of the fund over the next few months.

"A stated plan to clean out the fund's assets cannot be characterized as 'consultation'", Dziewit said. This is not a strategy that will maximize the share value for shareholders—it is a cut and run ploy that will benefit no one."

Bellan said, "It's time to move this venture to the next logical level and hold a Shareholder's meeting so that the people most affected can make an informed decision about the future of the Crocus Fund."

Both groups are concerned that the most recent valuation of Crocus Fund assets is hopelessly out of date and there is no way of determining if the receiver's sale plan will realize any return on share value or if it will simply guarantee major loses for Crocus shareholders.

The MFL and the Investor's Association have pooled their resources in an effort to force the receiver to call a shareholders meeting as soon as possible. Together, less duplications, the two organizations have 3,910 forms, which is far in excess of the required five per cent of shareholders or 1,700 forms needed to trigger a meeting.

The receiver is required by law to respond to the request for a shareholder meeting within 21 days.