Baffinland gets several new board members

Baffinland’s new owners are wasting no time adding new faces to the company’s board of directors as they continue the joint takeover of the owner of the Mary River iron ore deposit.

ArcelorMittal and Nunavut Iron Ore announced Feb. 1 that they now control 62 per cent of Baffinland shares. Their offer is for 100 per cent of the company at $1.50 per share, which expires Feb. 4.

But the new ownership is already shaking Baffinland’s board, announcing in a news release Jan. 27 that five board members have resigned and the board has increased in size from nine to 11 members.

Aditya Mittal, the 31-year-old chief financial officer of ArcelorMittal, takes over as chairman of Baffinland’s board.

Phil Du Toit, ArcelorMittal’s vice president of president of mining and exploration, takes over as president and chief executive officer.

The new board also includes Bruce Walter and Jowdat Waheed from Nunavut Iron Ore. Waheed, a former consultant with Baffinland, was criticized by the company’s management at the time for exploiting his knowledge of Baffinland to take a run at a hostile takeover.

ArcelorMittal and Nunavut Iron Ore traded rival takeover bids for Baffinland last year, before joining forces last month on a joint takeover offer worth $590 million.