Maple Leaf Foods activist Boland finally retreats, leaves board

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Greg Boland's six-year saga to shake up Maple Leaf Foods Inc. has finally come to an end, with the activist investor stepping down from the company's board of directors.

When he first invested in 2010, Mr. Boland launched a high-profile proxy battle against a company that was in rough shape. Some investors believed the board was stacked with allies of the McCain family, which owned a one-third stake, and the company was struggling to compete with much more efficient global rivals.

After winning the battle, Mr. Boland joined the board in 2011. Instead of plotting to push out chief executive officer Michael McCain, he worked with the CEO to craft a comprehensive restructuring plan, which included revamping old meat-processing facilities and selling non-core meat assets.

Through his investment fund, West Face Capital, Mr. Boland starting buying 16 million shares in August, 2010, and by the time he sold in 2014, the stock had roughly doubled. (It is tough to determine precisely when West Face bought its shares, and at what price.)

However, Mr. Boland kept his board seat On Monday, Maple Leaf announced Mr. Boland would be stepping down as a director. He served on the audit committee and the human resources and compensation committee.

When he first sold his shares, Maple Leaf's outlook was still a little shaky. Although the stock had popped, the company was still bleeding money and hadn't turned a profit in five of the previous six quarters. Although the restructuring plan was driven by a strong vision, it was expensive to execute and the charges amounted to more than $1-billion.

In the two years since, those fears have dissipated. In all, Maple Leaf has opened new meat plants; closed older, less-efficient facilities; and sold a slew of assets, including its meat-rendering division and the Olivieri pasta company. The goal was to focus the company on prepared meats and hog production.

Shareholders have liked the progress, and since West Face sold its shares in two tranches in 2014, the stock has popped another 45 per cent or so. Although that must sting Mr. Boland, who declined to comment, West Face went on to invest in startup wireless phone company Wind Mobile, which was sold to Shaw Communications last year for $1.6-billion.