HAMILTON, ON, Jan. 21 /CNW/ - Stelco Inc. (TSX:STE) today commented on
the resignation letter of two former directors which was made public under an
Order of the Superior Court of Justice (Ontario) last evening.
The Company noted that allegations contained in the letter had been
addressed previously by the board of directors and by a Special Officer of the
Court. A Special Committee of the board was established to review the
allegations following receipt of the resignation letter last August. In
addition, the Company sought and obtained the appointment of the Honourable
Coulter Osborne as a Special Officer of the Court. His mandate was to assist
and oversee the Special Committee's review of the allegations, and to report
to the Court.
Mr. Osborne's report ("the Osborne report") was filed and made public on
September 21, 2005. The report confirmed the appropriateness of the process
and findings of the Special Committee in the matters under review. The report
expressed the view that there was no conflict of interest on the part of the
president and chief executive officer or other members of senior management,
that there had been no stakeholder complaint about the forecasting model that
was used, and that the board had acted responsibly in considering all aspects
of the forecasts with which it was presented.
The Company today noted in particular a number of allegations in the
former directors' letter concerning the Chief Restructuring Officer ("CRO"),
Mr. Hap Stephen. The Company noted the Osborne report's finding that "there
was nothing which emerged in the course of the Special Committee process which
in any way compromised the role of the CRO."
Richard Drouin, chairman of Stelco's board of directors, said, "The
allegations, and particularly those concerning the motives and conduct of
specific individuals, are not accepted by Stelco's current directors who
consider those allegations to be inappropriate and unjustified.
"The activities of the board, management, advisors and the CRO have been
overseen by the Court-appointed Monitor. For its part, the board has had
complete confidence in every member of the Company's restructuring team
throughout this process."
About Stelco
Stelco Inc. is a large, diversified steel producer. Stelco is involved in
major segments of the steel industry through its integrated steel business,
mini-mills and manufactured products businesses. This news release may contain
forward-looking information with respect to the Corporation's business
operations, financial performance and conditions. Actual results may differ
from expected results for a variety of reasons including factors discussed in
the Corporation's Management's Discussion and Analysis section of the
Corporation's 2004 Annual Report. To learn more about Stelco and its
businesses, please refer to our Web site at www.stelco.ca.
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