abcd Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Is it a generic reminder to vote or these calls are paid for by one party or other? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muscleman Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 I have received no less than 15 messages at home AFTER telling them twice that I have received the information and will be voting. SD campaign to get shareholders to vote is bordering on harassment. Who is calling you? TPG or TW? Now that TW's white revocation card is invalidated by the court, I think the only one who needs to call you should be TPG. Am I right? On the other hand, is this an implication that TPG hasn't received enough votes yet, so it is getting desperate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redskin212 Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 It is the company calling - not TPG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dowfin1 Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 In light of the Court’s ruling, on March 9, 2013, the Board approved of the director candidates proposed by the TPG-Axon group for the limited purpose of the change of control provisions of its Indentures. This approval operates to avert the potential consequences originally identified by the Board in connection with the Indentures. Further, under the terms of the Court’s ruling, the Board is no longer subject to the injunction described above. The Board continues to oppose the election of the director candidates proposed by the TPG-Axon group, believes their election is not in the best interest of the Company’s stockholders, and recommends that stockholders support the Company’s existing experienced board of directors. http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1349436/000119312513102264/d499844d8k.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muscleman Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 It is the company calling - not TPG. That is weird.... What are they calling you about? Not to vote for TPG? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redskin212 Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 To remind me of the vote and to ensure that I know about the white card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sampr01 Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Anyone surprised that "TPG still having press releases and asking to VOTE for GREEN card" and voting closes in 2 days. Tom and board are not giving up. This may indicate that Tom may prevail, but TPG is still buying shares. confusing... It is the company calling - not TPG. That is weird.... What are they calling you about? Not to vote for TPG? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsad Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Anyone surprised that "TPG still having press releases and asking to VOTE for GREEN card" and voting closes in 2 days. Tom and board are not giving up. This may indicate that Tom may prevail, but TPG is still buying shares. confusing... It is the company calling - not TPG. That is weird.... What are they calling you about? Not to vote for TPG? No. $1,500 press release or tens of millions at risk in a proxy battle...the cost of the press release isn't much in relative terms. I think it will be close, but I suspect Tom and the board are out. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sampr01 Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Thanks Sanjeev Any info on how FFH voted?. If Tom has any doubts...then he should have compromised and given up couple board seats?. Am I thinking backwards?. Anyone surprised that "TPG still having press releases and asking to VOTE for GREEN card" and voting closes in 2 days. Tom and board are not giving up. This may indicate that Tom may prevail, but TPG is still buying shares. confusing... It is the company calling - not TPG. That is weird.... What are they calling you about? Not to vote for TPG? No. $1,500 press release or tens of millions at risk in a proxy battle...the cost of the press release isn't much in relative terms. I think it will be close, but I suspect Tom and the board are out. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muscleman Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 To remind me of the vote and to ensure that I know about the white card. That is confusing. The white card is already invalidated by the judge, so why do they still bother wasting time calling people about the white card? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muscleman Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Thanks Sanjeev Any info on how FFH voted?. If Tom has any doubts...then he should have compromised and given up couple board seats?. Am I thinking backwards?. Anyone surprised that "TPG still having press releases and asking to VOTE for GREEN card" and voting closes in 2 days. Tom and board are not giving up. This may indicate that Tom may prevail, but TPG is still buying shares. confusing... It is the company calling - not TPG. That is weird.... What are they calling you about? Not to vote for TPG? No. $1,500 press release or tens of millions at risk in a proxy battle...the cost of the press release isn't much in relative terms. I think it will be close, but I suspect Tom and the board are out. Cheers! FFH said in multiple occasions to support TW. If they vote for TPG, won't they be sued for market manipulation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsad Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Thanks Sanjeev Any info on how FFH voted?. If Tom has any doubts...then he should have compromised and given up couple board seats?. Am I thinking backwards?. Anyone surprised that "TPG still having press releases and asking to VOTE for GREEN card" and voting closes in 2 days. Tom and board are not giving up. This may indicate that Tom may prevail, but TPG is still buying shares. confusing... It is the company calling - not TPG. That is weird.... What are they calling you about? Not to vote for TPG? No. $1,500 press release or tens of millions at risk in a proxy battle...the cost of the press release isn't much in relative terms. I think it will be close, but I suspect Tom and the board are out. Cheers! Fairfax has stated publically they support the existing management, so I would expect them to vote for management. I just think alot of other shareholders are voting against the board based on the sentiment from our own poll that we conducted here, and the generaly case that TPG has laid out. How can anyone in their right mind not see some conflict of interest even in the most optimistic of scenarios. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardboard Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Have you guys looked into how much it is going to cost to oust Ward? I get $97 million including all restricted stock. Not only is this guy having major conflicts of interest, total compensation is completely out of line at $20 million a year. Same school as McClendon. He was COO at Chesapeake and co-founder after all. They also both seem to like the NBA Thunder and Sandridge pays to sponsor them. You don't even need to look at TPG-Axon's allegations to figure out that Ward wasn't in there to reward himself in concert with shareholders, but himself first. If Watsa keeps inviting that guy to his shareholders meeting (assuming he wins) or even letting him in, then I think that you guys should revolt. He talks about no ego at Fairfax in his annual letter, then what is this guy doing there or being associated so closely to the organization? Why does he plan on voting for him? Even Mason Hawkins who is normally not what I would call an activist could figure out that McClendon was abusing him and threw him out. Cardboard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matts Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 I agree with Cardboard. Ward's treatment of shareholders has been terrible. Fairfax is losing credibility by supporting this clown. And I don't care that they previously stated in the past that they support management. You issue a press release saying "in light of new information, we change our mind." That's not the least bit market manipulation. Fairfax claims integrity, but there is no integrity in stubborn, misplaced loyalty. Watsa should do the right thing for HIS shareholders and change Fairfax's stance on Ward (only recently went long SD, so this isn't sour grapes about a loss). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FFHWatcher Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 I agree with Cardboard. Ward's treatment of shareholders has been terrible. Fairfax is losing credibility by supporting this clown. And I don't care that the previously stated in the past that they support management. You issue a press release saying "in light on new information, we change our mind." That's not the least bit market manipulation. Fairfax claims integrity, but there is no integrity in stubborn, misplaced loyalty. Watsa should do the right thing for HIS shareholders and change Fairfax's stance on Ward (only recently went long SD, so this isn't sour grapes about a loss). +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muscleman Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 When will the solicitation result come out? Right on March 16th, or some more time will be needed to count the votes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lessthaniv Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 I agree with Cardboard. Ward's treatment of shareholders has been terrible. Fairfax is losing credibility by supporting this clown. And I don't care that they previously stated in the past that they support management. You issue a press release saying "in light of new information, we change our mind." That's not the least bit market manipulation. Fairfax claims integrity, but there is no integrity in stubborn, misplaced loyalty. Watsa should do the right thing for HIS shareholders and change Fairfax's stance on Ward (only recently went long SD, so this isn't sour grapes about a loss). -1 Prem's loyalty is to his own shareholder's and that has been unwavering. By my math, his shareholders are in position to do well by Prem's decision to make an investment in SD and Tom Ward (all things considered). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-bone1 Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 -1 Prem's loyalty is to his own shareholder's and that has been unwavering. By my math, his shareholders are in position to do well by Prem's decision to make an investment in SD and Tom Ward (all things considered). I wholeheartedly agree with lessthaniv. Because Prem and Buffett have such great reputations for honesty and fair dealing, people often expect them to act as some sort of policeman in the markets. This just isn't a reasonable expectation. Buffett said glowing things about John Geutfriend and I believe he was reluctant to let him go. There have been many other examples in the past of Buffet investing in - and speaking highly of - executives who were overpaid and may have turned out to be unethical. I think that Prem and Buffett both have a relatively low bar for offering public praise and a high one for offering public scorn - and this is the way it should be. Prem (or perhaps Sam Mitchell in this case) invested in Sandridge because he thought it would make money for all of the shareholders of Fairfax. Whatever issues have been dug up at Fairfax, there are plenty of people doing something about it. It would be a disservice to Fairfax's shareholders (by possibly hurting their future prospects for friendly co-investments) if Prem were to pile on at this point. Tom Ward doesn't work for Fairfax - it isn't Prem's place to fire him. If all of the negative information about Tom were brought to Fairfax instead of raised by activists and released in the press, then the onus would be on Fairfax as a fiduciary to do something about it. Because it is being more than adequately raised by others, I don't think Fairfax needs to be participating in this fight in a public fashion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muscleman Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 -1 Prem's loyalty is to his own shareholder's and that has been unwavering. By my math, his shareholders are in position to do well by Prem's decision to make an investment in SD and Tom Ward (all things considered). I wholeheartedly agree with lessthaniv. Because Prem and Buffett have such great reputations for honesty and fair dealing, people often expect them to act as some sort of policeman in the markets. This just isn't a reasonable expectation. Buffett said glowing things about John Geutfriend and I believe he was reluctant to let him go. There have been many other examples in the past of Buffet investing in - and speaking highly of - executives who were overpaid and may have turned out to be unethical. I think that Prem and Buffett both have a relatively low bar for offering public praise and a high one for offering public scorn - and this is the way it should be. Prem (or perhaps Sam Mitchell in this case) invested in Sandridge because he thought it would make money for all of the shareholders of Fairfax. Whatever issues have been dug up at Fairfax, there are plenty of people doing something about it. It would be a disservice to Fairfax's shareholders (by possibly hurting their future prospects for friendly co-investments) if Prem were to pile on at this point. Tom Ward doesn't work for Fairfax - it isn't Prem's place to fire him. If all of the negative information about Tom were brought to Fairfax instead of raised by activists and released in the press, then the onus would be on Fairfax as a fiduciary to do something about it. Because it is being more than adequately raised by others, I don't think Fairfax needs to be participating in this fight in a public fashion. TW doesn't work for FFH? FFH is a 13% shareholder of SD. TW is supposed to work for all shareholders. So you can't say TW doesn't work for FFH. Faced with the vote, FFH can either vote yes, or vote no, or ignore it, which means vote no also. If no one has called for the vote, and FFH does nothing, that is easier to explain. You can argue that Prem is a nice guy, and it is unfair for him to be the policeman. But now that the vote is in front of Prem, and he is forced to choose either yes or no immediately, and he chooses no, can you still say that he is protecting FFH shareholders' interest? What is even more perplex is why he kept buying SD after he said he would support TW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsad Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Have you guys looked into how much it is going to cost to oust Ward? I get $97 million including all restricted stock. Not only is this guy having major conflicts of interest, total compensation is completely out of line at $20 million a year. Same school as McClendon. He was COO at Chesapeake and co-founder after all. They also both seem to like the NBA Thunder and Sandridge pays to sponsor them. You don't even need to look at TPG-Axon's allegations to figure out that Ward wasn't in there to reward himself in concert with shareholders, but himself first. If Watsa keeps inviting that guy to his shareholders meeting (assuming he wins) or even letting him in, then I think that you guys should revolt. He talks about no ego at Fairfax in his annual letter, then what is this guy doing there or being associated so closely to the organization? Why does he plan on voting for him? Even Mason Hawkins who is normally not what I would call an activist could figure out that McClendon was abusing him and threw him out. Cardboard Hi Cardboard, You should probably consider the saying "Better the devil you know, than the devil you don't know." Fairfax was into SD big...they probably think Tom Ward can increase shareholder value. Doesn't mean they agree with the compensation or other conflicts of interest. Maybe they don't think firing Ward at over a hundred million, and then bringing in an unknown in the oil industry with TPG is the way to improve things. They may pull a SEAM & Lou Simpson like at CHK, and create change internally without a complete change in the board and management. Prem's never gone into a business with the intent of replacing management. He looks to lead, improve their behavior, not displace them. Only if it is completely untenable and change cannot occur is when he would push forward with anything else. You should probably hear him out before deciding on why he has his stance. I don't like the compensation, excesses, and conflicts of interest...it's almost farcical the sheer gaudiness of it all. Change is needed, but whether that comes from inside or outside is a personal choice for shareholders. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matts Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 I don't agree with your statement. Yes, in the past, Prem's decision to invest with Ward may have been profitable. But it's also Prem's job to reevaluate the investments on a continual basis. Maybe Ward was the right guy to gather the assets, but maybe he is not the right guy to develop them. And isn't SD down huge since the IPO? so I'm not sure how your math is working out. Besides, we should all be considering our investments from today's viewpoint, and not putting so much emphasis on past performance. Otherwise, everyone would be riding the likes of Bear Stearns all the way to zero because of years of profitability. Situations change, so do investment characteristics. Investors need to adapt. My personal opinion is that Fairfax needs to adapt away from Ward to maximize its return on SD. -1 Prem's loyalty is to his own shareholder's and that has been unwavering. By my math, his shareholders are in position to do well by Prem's decision to make an investment in SD and Tom Ward (all things considered). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sampr01 Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Sanjeev Congrats.. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/13/us-sandridge-settlement-idUSBRE92C14X20130313?feedType=RSS&feedName=innovationNews&rpc=43 Then http://finance.yahoo.com/news/sandridge-energy-expands-board-directors-200500922.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matson125 Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Here it is! http://finance.yahoo.com/news/sandridge-energy-expands-board-directors-200500922.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bablu Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 This is terrific news.. Hats off to TPG to pull this one.. These guys are real.. :) :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grenville Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 I'm enjoying the discussion re: SD. Thank you all for sharing your opinions. I'm happy to see a resolution to the proxy fight. I wonder how much Fairfax helped move the fight to the negotiating table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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