Tronox investor urges company to focus on shareholder recovery

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., May 7 - Michael H. Scholten of Clear Harbor Asset Management, LLC sent a lengthy letter on April 20 to Tronox Inc. interim chairman and chief executive officer Dennis L. Wanlass - to be shared with the company's board of directors - encouraging them to focus on maximizing shareholder recovery rather than expropriating value for opportunistic bondholders.

The letter was not advocating support for or against any reorganization plan, Scholten said.

Clear Harbor manages accounts that own 1,407,000 shares of Tronox common stock, consisting of 342,000 A shares and 1,127,000 B shares.

According to the letter, the debtor's third-largest shareholder would like to see the creditors paid in full and have the debtor recognize that ownership should be retained by its common stockholders.

Scholten's letter said "Tronox should be added to the list of survivors" that includes General Growth Properties, Inc., Pilgrim's Pride Corp. and Kasper ASL Ltd. that "managed through the bankruptcy process, took care of their liabilities and enabled their stockholders to retain their full rightful ownership."

Tronox, an Oklahoma City-based producer and marketer of titanium dioxide pigment, filed for bankruptcy on Jan. 12, 2009 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Its Chapter 11 case number is 09-10156.

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