Activists help reshape their plans

Article Excerpt

METHANEX CORP. $63 (Toronto symbol MX; Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 77.0 million; Market cap: $4.9 billion; Dividend yield: 2.6%; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.methanex.com) is the world’s leading supplier and distributor of methanol. Manufacturers use that substance in a wide range of products such as adhesives, foams, plywood, solvents and windshield-washer fluid. Increasingly, it is used as an alternative fuel source (either on its own or blended), a component in biodiesel, and in the production of dimethyl ether (a fuel similar to propane). Activist investor M&G Investments, which owns 16.5% of Methanex, has criticized the company over a new methanol plant that Methanex wants to build in Geismar, Louisiana. M&G feels the cost of the plant—over $1 billion U.S.—would add too much debt to the company’s balance sheet. To offset that cost, M&G wants it to take on a partner for the project. Methanex has now agreed to place two M&G representatives on its 11-member board of directors. It will also hire an…