CALGARY – Alberta Wheat Pool will continue as a farmer-owned co-operative.
The proposal to join Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and United Grain Growers on the stock exchange was rejected during closed-door meetings in Calgary at the end of November. Delegates brainstormed and listened to various options to raise the necessary cash for new projects but a public share offering was not one of them.
“We’re not going to sell the co-op,” said pool president Alex Graham. “Their decision to remain a co-operative took us very quickly out of the thought of public share offerings. Obviously you can’t be both.”
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Graham compared the pool’s situation to what many farm families are experiencing, in which children want to continue farming and at the same time provide their parents with a comfortable retirement.
Delegates have asked for a review of member equity within the total current equity plan for the spring meeting.
More information about all the alternatives to raise money for long-term investments, before decisions are made, was also requested.
Graham said earlier the pool needs to raise about $100 million to pay for new capital projects over the next five years.
“We’re not in that big a bind. We’re not in a position where we haven’t got room to do anything. The question is how you do it,” he said.
The board has been directed to follow several guidelines with the foremost being that members retain control.
It was also suggested that segregating assets like the terminals be considered as one way to generate new income.
The pool’s financial advisers have been asked to look at ways to sell shares in the terminals.
A stable and reliable financial picture on the West Coast makes the terminals more attractive to investors rather than depending on the country system to generate more money.
