Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits Announces Voting Results from its Annual General and Special Meeting of Shareholders
September 26, 2019, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario – Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits Inc. (“Diamond Estates” or “the Company”) (DWS-TSX Venture) announced the results of voting at its annual general and special meeting of shareholders held today in Toronto.
The voting results for the election of directors were as follows:
| Director Nominees | Number of Shares | Percentage of Votes Cast | ||
| For | Withheld | For | Withheld | |
| David Beutel | 89,397,451 | 420,665 | 99.53% | 0.47% |
| John De Sousa | 88,294,261 | 1,523,855 | 98.30% | 1.70% |
| Eric Gemme | 89,575,451 | 242,665 | 99.73% | 0.27% |
| Keith Harris | 89,397,451 | 420,665 | 99.53% | 0.47% |
| John Hick | 89,327,451 | 490,665 | 99.45% | 0.55% |
| Jean Rocheleau | 89,573,151 | 244,965 | 99.73% | 0.27% |
| J. Murray Souter | 89,408,451 | 409,665 | 99.54% | 0.46% |
The voting results for other matters before the meeting were as follows:
- Appointment of Auditors: 99.87% of the votes were in favour of the resolution appointing PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC as auditors of the Company until the next annual meeting, and 0.13% of the votes were withheld;
- Annual Approval of Stock Option Plan: 99.45% of the votes were in favour of the resolution to approve the stock option plan until the next annual meeting, and 0.45% of the votes were against;
- Approval of Amendments to the Deferred Share Unit Plan: 99.18% of the votes were in favour of the resolution to approve amendments to the deferred share unit plan, and 0.82% of the votes were against;
- Consolidation Resolution: 97.86% of the votes were in favour of the resolution authorizing the consolidation of the issued and outstanding common shares of Diamond Estates on the basis of one post-consolidation common share for up to every 10 pre-consolidation common shares, with the actual consolidation ratio to be determined by the Board of Directors following the meeting, and 2.14% of the votes were against; and
- Size of Board of Directors: 99.35% of the votes were in favour of the resolution to approve the empowerment of the Board of Directors to set the size of the Board, and 0.65% of the votes were against.
In order to create a necessary vacancy on the Board of Directors so that the Board has seven directors, including two directors nominated by Lassonde Industries Inc., Harold Wolkin did not stand for re-election. The Board of Directors thanks Mr. Wolkin for his long tenure as a director and his significant contributions to the Company.
In the Board of Directors meeting immediately after the AGM, the following individuals were appointed officers of the Company:
David Beutel: Chairman
J. Murray Souter: President and Chief Executive Officer
Paul Dowdall: Chief Financial Officer
Christopher Terrio: Vice President
Tim McChesney: Vice President
Andrew Green: Vice-President and Secretary
Lastly, the Company has agreed to issue an aggregate of 900,000 share options, in accordance with the employment agreement of two employees and per the normal course number of options issued to new directors, with a strike price to be set as of the close of trading on September 27, 2019, using the standard form of option agreement of the Company.
About Diamond Estates Wines and Spirits Inc.
Diamond Estates Wines and Spirits Inc. is a producer of high quality wines and a sales agent for over 120 beverage alcohol brands across Canada. The Company operates three wineries, two in Ontario and one in British Columbia, that produce predominantly VQA wines under such well known brand names as 20 Bees, EastDell, Lakeview Cellars, Dan Aykroyd, Fresh, McMichael Collection, Benchmark, Seasons and Backyard Vineyards. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Trajectory Beverage Partners, the Company is the sales agent for many leading international brands in all regions of the country as well as being a distributor in the western provinces. These recognizable brands include Josh wines from California, Fat Bastard and Andre Lurton wines from France, Kaiken wines from Argentina, Anciano wines from Spain, Blue Nun wines from Germany, Francois Lurton wines from France and Argentina, Waterloo Brewing and Amsterdam Brewery, both from Canada, Landshark Lager from the USA, Marston's beers from England, Social Lite vodka sodas from Canada, Malfy Gin from Italy, Edinburgh Gin from Scotland, Ian MacLeod and Glengoyne scotches from Scotland, Barcelo Rum from the Dominican Republic and Tequila Rose Liqueur from McCormick Distilling in the USA.
For more information, please contact:
J. Murray Souter
President & CEO
Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits Inc.
jmurraysouter@diamondwines.com
905.641.1042 Ext 234
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
