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VANTAGE EXCLUSIVE: Connacher's Captain Completes Clean Sweep

January 12, 2012 at 10:18:36 EST by Jason Staeck





A mere eight days after their latest shakeup, Connacher Oil and Gas [CLL – TSX] is creating headlines again today with the announcement of the sudden departure of CEO Richard “Dick” Gusella today. The exit of the crafty veteran of the Calgary oil scene comes on the heels of mounting pressure levied by activist investors against the company to take drastic action; be it to sell itself, change-up management (which it did on January 4th and today), or setup a joint venture.

Known for his strong personality and devotion to the corporation, Gusella wasn’t inclined to kowtow to the activist investors’ wishes. His signature no BS attitude rang through last Friday when interviewed by Reuters about the company’s actions going ahead.

“We indicated to the activist investors that they fly away, as our duty was to the corporation,” said Gusella.

This interrogation took place after joint venture talks were postponed into February, as investor angst grew louder.

With Gusella now out of the picture, CLL’s shares have rocketed forward this morning, already 10.75% at the time of this publication. Going forward, those in the activist investors’ camp can possibly see a sale on the horizon. Hovering over the $1.02 per share mark, the company has already seen its shares rebound quite nicely from its dropoff that saw the values go as low as $0.23 back in October.

After 11 years with the company, Connacher has a new identity without Gusella at the helm, which may take some getting used to among those who have followed the company over the years. But in this business, timing is everything, and in the last year, things just didn’t line up for the mid-sized oil sands producer.

Last July when the company initiated a search for a joint venture partner on its Great Divide property, the process was interrupted by the shocks to the market dropped by the Eurozone crisis. In an effort to continue as the primary operator, Connacher had to continue fishing for partners, until the company’s 4th quarter improvement in results and 2012 outlook eased the pressure on the company to act fast.

But, as 2012 began, the mood to sell was swelling, especially with one of Connacher’s biggest shareholders urging it on. Then less than a month ago the company rejected an unsolicited offer from an unnamed company, and the management shift had begun. On January 4th, Gusella began the clean sweep by letting go of COO Peter Sametz, VP and CFO Richard Kines and VP Corporate Development Grant Ukrainetz. Today, Gusella took himself out of the picture, with absolutely no connection to Connacher left over; no longer CEO, no longer a Director.

Directors Colin Evans and Kelly Ogle will replace Gusella in the interim. So far the only hint of what’s to come for the company is in the statement:

 “The company continues to experience strong financial results and is focused on maintaining financial flexibility and execution of its conservative (bold text added by VantageWire) $37 million capital program for 2012.”

G. Joel Chury
Editor in Chief
VantageWire.com

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Disclaimer: The author does not currently hold shares in the company mentioned in this article.

Jason Staeck

Born and raised in Sri Lanka to an American father and an Indian mother, Jason’s roots lie in a global, multicultural setting. Amongst the foray of words that help describe his youth are: travel, civil war, rainforests, tennis and tsunami. His time growing up in Sri Lanka is remembered with much fondness and is believed to have fundamentally shaped his views. Upon graduating from the International Baccalaureate program, Jason took a gamble in moving to Vancouver to pursue further studies at the University of British Columbia. His interests saw him excel in Political Science; fusing his writing capabilities with a keen willingness expand his knowledge base.

Five years down the line and Jason’s work experiences have varied dramatically. He has worked as an adventure guide, an office administrator, a sport and facilities supervisor and a brand ambassador. And having recently received his undergraduate degree in both English Literature and Political Science Jason looks to the future with an eye to the pen. At some point a Master’s degree in Journalism is on the cards, but in the time being Jason is looking to continue writing about topics of great interest. Having recently joined the ProspectingJournal team he now looks to master everything the financial markets can throw at him. Look to Jason for an ambitious, young writer that continues to add personality and panache to his daily contributions.

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