July 19 (Reuters) - Activist investor John Paulson's hedgefund on Thursday said it would urge Detour Gold Corp tocall a special shareholder meeting to replace a majority of thecompany's directors, as it pushes for change at the Canadiangold miner.
Paulson & Co's statement comes a day after the partiesengaged in a heated public exchange over Detour's failure inpublicly disclosing a buyout offer. Detour did not disclose the buyout offer to Paulson becausethe company was aware that a third party had already informedhim about it, the gold miner said in its latest statement. The company on Wednesday asked the Ontario SecuritiesCommission (OSC) to investigate Paulson, accusing it of"concerning and unlawful behavior" after the hedge fund put outa statement disclosing a buyout offer for Detour from a goldminer.
Paulson called the accusations "false and misleading" andsaid the hedge fund was in contact with the OSC before it putout the statement.
Paulson & Co, which has a 5.4 percent stake in the goldminer, said on Thursday that the OSC had not reviewed the hedgefund's statement. The Canadian market watchdog had not "expressed its views onany of the issues raised by Detour and Paulson," the hedge fundsaid.
Paulson & Co has threatened to replace Detour's board if itdoes not successfully explore strategic alternatives, includinga sale, and look for a new chief executive.
Paulson & Co said it would request for the shareholdermeeting to be held no later than Sept. 28.
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