PEACHLAND, BC, March 21, 2018 /CNW/ - Adam Travis (the "Concerned Shareholder"
or "Mr. Travis"), a director, shareholder and former
President and Chief Executive Officer of Colorado Resources Ltd.
(TSXV:CXO) ("Colorado" or
the "Corporation") today addresses the false and misleading
attacks leveled against him. Shareholders of Colorado (the "Shareholders") are
encouraged to not be misled and vote the YELLOW proxy for change at
the April 17, 2018 annual general
meeting of shareholders (the "Meeting").
Attacks by Conflicted Directors Aimed to Silence Mr. Travis
and Distract Shareholders
The personal attacks on the Concerned Shareholder and his family
were aimed to hurt and silence him. These have been ongoing threats
since he stood up for the rights of Shareholders and opposed the
self-interested actions taken by the Chairman of the Board,
Lawrence Nagy, and two other
inter-related directors, Terese
Gieselman and William
Lindqvist (the "Conflicted Directors"). The alarming
details of the Conflicted Directors' actions to profit at the
expense of Colorado shareholders
(the "Damara Transaction"), are more fully described in the
Concerned Shareholder's letter dated March
12, 2018 (Also visit:
https://www.laurelhill.ca/a-better-coloradoresources).
"I have tried on numerous occasions to work with the board
and together find a way to resolve the issues relating to the
Damara Transaction and to work on promoting good governance of
Colorado going forward, including
a renewed board of independent directors. Unfortunately, instead of
having a healthy dialogue, this resulted in the Conflicted
Directors retaliating against me." explained Mr.
Travis.
"After much thought and encouragement from many shareholders,
and knowing the personal attacks that will come, I believe
shareholders should have an opportunity to effect change and vote
for an independent board slate which is free of conflicting agendas
and will serve the shareholders, and not themselves."
Conflicted Directors Signed All Cheques and Had Full
Disclosure
The Conflicted Directors accuse Mr. Travis of using the
Corporation's money for his own personal benefit throughout the
years. If there were actual concerns about misappropriation of
funds, where was the Board's oversight all these years? Or
perhaps it is simply coincidence that the Conflicted Directors
decided to trump up misleading accusations after the failed Damara
Transaction and repeated requests by Mr. Travis for good governance
of Colorado. Shareholders should
note the below:
- Everything Was Above Board and There Was No "scheme".
All the financial arrangements were known about, agreed to,
invoiced, approved, arranged with tax and regulatory advice through
the CFO (Ms. Gieselman) and corporate counsel, paid for under the
supervision of the CFO, double checked by the Audit Committee (Mr.
Nagy since 2010 and Mr. Lindqvist since 2015), and then fully
disclosed in quarterly and AUDITED annual financial statements.
Nothing was hidden.
- All Cheques Require Two Signatories. The authorized
persons were Mr. Travis, Ms. Gieselman and Mr. Nagy. Therefore, Ms.
Gieselman and/or Mr. Nagy approved these expenses which benefited
Colorado and provided their sign
off. Are they now questioning their own actions?
- In summary, Mr. Travis has always been transparent with the
Board and even after hiring a "third-party" to investigate, the
Conflicted Directors were still unable to terminate Mr. Travis for
cause - irrespective of how the Conflicted Directors
try to spin the story.
Additional Facts which the Conflicted Directors Neglect to
Address or Have Distorted to their Advantage
Shareholders should consider the following facts which the
Conflicted Directors have neglected to address or have distorted to
their advantage in order to obtain your support:
- The Damara Transaction. The Conflicted Directors
gloss over their self-interested actions and try to paint a picture
that they complied with all statutory and regulatory requirements
and that the Damara transaction was "a good deal for Colorado
Shareholders". If this was the case, why did they terminate
it?
- Independent Directors Cease to be Nominated on Management's
Board Slate. The only two independent directors under the
Damara Transaction, Mr. Travis and Carl
Hering, who questioned and opposed the Conflicted Directors,
are conveniently no longer on management's board slate at the
upcoming Meeting. The Conflicted Directors failed to mention this
fact.
- Root of Colorado's Issues
Remain on the Board. Conflicted director, Mr. Nagy, claims he
is offering to Shareholders a renewed board. However, the root of
Colorado's problem still exists. 2
of the 3 Conflicted Directors remain on the Board with Ms.
Gieselman stepping off but she remains as Colorado's CFO. Ms. Gieselman is replaced by
Cecil Bond who has served as a
Director of Golden Ridge Resources Ltd. - a company where all three
of the Conflicted Directors serve as officers and/or directors.
Shareholders are still left with a Board controlled by the
Conflicted Directors. This "hand-picked" board is not a board that
can be trusted given the Conflicted Directors' actions to date.
- Attempt to Stop Shareholder Choice. Mr. Travis submitted
an advance notice of the Proposed Nominees under the Corporation's
Advance Notice Policy. However, it was rejected until legal action
was taken and a court Petition was filed regarding such oppressive
action.
- The Conflicted Directors feign ignorance around
ownership of the Gin Property and Mr. Travis' strategy as it
relates to this property. Mr. Travis had interests in the Gin
property well before Colorado was
formed in 2009 and the Board was fully aware of this. Mr. Travis
assembled the complete Gin property which provided Colorado with an opportunity to acquire the
whole property and the Bill of Sales were prepared by Ms.
Gieselman's company, Minco Corporate Management Inc. When
Colorado failed to acquire the
intervening ROK-Coyote from Firesteel Resources Inc., Colorado declined to acquire the Gin Property
(8 km away from North ROK) and Mr. Nagy suggested that the Gin
Property be put into his private company at the time, Golden Ridge
Resources Ltd.
- False Interpretation of Mr. Travis' Intentions. Mr.
Travis has always been motivated to create shareholder value at
Colorado. Why wouldn't he
be? He has a significant amount invested in Colorado. His family participated in
financings because they believed in the Corporation and still do.
Mr. Travis has never sold the shares he owns, unlike the Conflicted
Directors who have placed little to zero investment into
Colorado. Mr. Travis' interests
are most aligned with Shareholders.
Shareholders Have a Say. Take Your Stance and Vote for an
Independent Board With a Proven Track Record of Delivering Value to
Shareholders.
The Concerned Shareholder's proposed nominees include
Adam Travis, Patrick Soares, Bryan
Wilson, Christian
Kargl-Simard and Michael
Cathro (the "Proposed Nominees"). They have valuable
qualities including:
- years of experience required to effectively move Colorado forward and provide expert oversight
to management;
- the technical expertise and experience as it relates to the
Corporation's existing assets;
- involved in financings raising more than $7 billion, completion of over 35 M&A transactions, increase of market
capitalization by 6 times; and
- being better positioned to unlock long-term value and
opportunities that the Corporation's current assets contain.
The plan forward for Colorado
would be to unlock the underlying shareholder value in the Company
by:
- Developing a long term Company strategy that has recently been
absent.
- Fostering a positive working environment with management.
- Implementing a high level of good corporate governance.
- Promoting transparency to shareholders with timely operational
updates.
- Continuing to build on existing relationships with strategic
partners and utilize the Proposed Nominees' vast network to build
on new relationships.
- Continuing the development of joint venture opportunities for
Colorado's non-core projects that
Mr. Travis was leading.
- Completing an independent technical review of Colorado's projects that Mr. Travis
implemented, including last year's data with advisers and technical
team, with an overall board mandate to prioritize targets and
install a sound business plan.
- Updating the January 2014
resource estimate at North ROK copper gold porphyry and conducting
a preliminary resource estimate on the Inel gold target at
KSP.
- Obtain permit to conduct exploration drill programs on the
Kinaskan Castle and Tami Zone at
KSP.
- Reviewing other opportunities in regions of the world where we
have experience and skill sets.
It is time for Shareholders to come first. Mr.
Travis wishes to thank fellow Shareholders for the support and
encouragement he continues to receive. Please vote your YELLOW
proxy today.
For More Information and Shareholder Questions
VOTE YOUR YELLOW PROXY PRIOR TO 8:00
A.M. (PACIFIC TIME) ON FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2018.
Shareholders are urged to vote online by following the instructions
found on the YELLOW Proxy or Voting Instruction Form to
ensure votes are received in a timely manner.
Visit www.laurelhill.ca/a-better-coloradoresources for more
information.
SOURCE Adam Travis