Business
Endeavour Financial seeks BCSC Investigation and Orders against Severstal and Severstal Partners in respect of their shareholdings in Crew Gold
Endeavour Financial seeks BCSC Investigation and Orders against Severstal and Severstal Partners ...
About this update from Endeavour Mining Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nGEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman, Apr. 6, 2010 (Canada NewsWire Group) -- /CNW/ -- Endeavour Financial Corporation together with its wholly owned subsidiary Endeavour Financial Luxembourg SARL (together, \"Endeavour\" or the \"Company\") announces that it has filed an application with the British Columbia Securities Commission (the \"BCSC\") to intervene in the face of recently exposed activities of OAO Severstal (\"Severstal\") in respect of Severstal's attempt to gain control of Crew Gold Corporation (\"Crew\").On April 1, 2010, Severstal announced that it was acting in allegiance with certain other Crew shareholders representing 23.53% of Crew (the \"Severstal Partners\") in order to requisition a meeting of Crew shareholders and replace the Crew board with Severstal nominees. In that announcement Severstal purported to abandon its bid to all Crew shareholders which Severstal had announced on February 25, 2010.As a result of the events exposed in Severstal's press release of April 1, 2010, Endeavour has filed an application with the BCSC requesting the BCSC to, among other things, investigate the activities of Severstal and the Severstal Partners in respect of suspicions surrounding market manipulation and acting in concert in contravention of Canadian securities legislation.Endeavour Financial has requested from the BCSC, among other things, orders that Severstal and the Severstal Partners: (a) be prohibited from trading in and be prohibited from purchasing any Crew shares; and (b) divest up to 30.33% of their Crew shares or be restricted in voting those Crew shares.BackgroundOn January 28, 2010, Endeavour acquired 37.88% of Crew's common shares and promptly announced its acquisition in accordance with Canadian and Norwegian securities legislation. At that time, Severstal had not disclosed any ownership interest in Crew.On February 12, 2010, Severstal announced that it had acquired shares in Crew that took its ownership interest to 19.79%.On February 25, 2010, Severstal announced that (a) it had acquired an additional 6.8% interest (the \"6.8% Interest\") in Crew that took its aggregate interest to 26.59%, (b) that it would make an offer to all Crew shareholders and (c) that it would pay the unnamed seller of the 6.8% Interest a \"top-up\" equal to the difference between the price Severstal paid pursuant to any offer it mad...