Energy Companies

A week ago we brought you the news that the country’s top two shareholder advisory firms, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis & Co., are each supporting opposing sides in the EQT proxy war (see Latest Round of Proxy Announcements from Rice Bros., EQT). A third firm, Egan-Jones–perhaps not quite as high profile as ISS and Glass Lewis but a big deal nonetheless (in the list of the top 6 such firms)–has just endorsed…
Read More “Proxy Advisory Firm Egan-Jones Supports Rice Bros. in Proxy War”

Who’s winning the proxy war to control the board of EQT Corporation? According to an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the ultimate outcome doesn’t much matter, at least for investors. “Investors love a proxy fight,” begins the article. Why? Because the share price for the company’s stock almost always rises during a proxy fight. As for who has more momentum going into next week’s July 10 annual meeting, it’s hard to deny that the Rice brothers have the big mo. The #1 shareholder in EQT, T. Rowe Price (owns 10% of all EQT stock), along with two other “top 10” EQT shareholders, are backing the Rice plan.
Read More “Handicapping the EQT/Rice Proxy Fight – Does it Matter Who Wins?”

Yesterday saw the latest round of shareholder letters from both sides in the proxy war to control the board of EQT Corporation–the largest natural gas producing company in the United States (not to mention they are focused 100% on the Marcellus/Utica). The Rice brothers, Toby and Derek, crowed about the fact the country’s most prominent shareholder advisory service, ISS, has sided with them, along with three of the top 10 EQT shareholders. EQT made the case that current management and the coming “refreshed” board mean that EQT is essentially a new company, and now is not the time to screw it up (our words, their sentiment).
Read More “EQT & Rice Trade Barbs Again, EQT Releases Refreshed Slide Deck”

Another day, another round of press releases from both EQT and the Rice brothers over the future of the company. The two sides are locked in a proxy battle to nominate a majority of board members, who in turn will appoint (or keep) top management for the company. Yesterday’s round of letters was, in essence, a recap of news that broke late last week: One major shareholder advisory firm, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), supports the Rice brothers’ attempt to take over the company, while a second major advisory firm, Glass Lewis & Co., believes existing management is the right answer for EQT’s future.
Read More “Latest Round of Proxy Announcements from Rice Bros., EQT”

Early on Friday, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), which makes recommendations to shareholders on how to vote in proxy fights, gave their stamp of approval to Toby and Derek Rice’s “activist” board takeover picks. ISS is heavily influential with institutional investors–organizations like hedge funds, mutual funds, and pension funds. We thought, “Oh oh, it’s all over now. The Rice boys have won.” But not so fast. Late Friday a second highly influential service that institutional investors look to for guidance, Glass Lewis & Co., threw their support behind the EQT slate of board candidates. The two most influential guidance services have split their support. What will shareholders do?
Read More “Proxy War: ISS Supports Rice Brothers, Glass Lewis Supports EQT”

EQT has just published a new 6-minute video touting their technological prowess in shale drilling. The video is an attempt to respond to charges coming from Toby and Derek Rice, who want to take over management of the company, that EQT is stuck in the past. We have a link to the video, along with our thoughts.
Read More “EQT Video Aims to Prove Current Mgmt Not Stuck in Yesteryear”

Both the Rice brothers and EQT are issuing press releases just about every day now in their battle to wrest (or keep) control of EQT. Yesterday the latest round of letters to shareholders, circulated via press release for the world to see, were issued. First up was a letter early yesterday from John F. McCartney, a Rice Team board nominee, praising Toby Rice (potential new EQT CEO). Later in the day EQT issued a letter chronicling what we would call an EQT listening tour. Although both letters tell shareholders to not vote for the other side’s board picks, noticeably absent from this latest round was the acrimony and personal attacks that have been present in recent letters.
Read More “Another Round of Dueling Letters to Shareholders from Rice, EQT”