Statement by Frank Giustra with respect to Thunderbird Entertainment

 VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 19, 2023 /CNW/ -Today I officially resigned from the board of Thunderbird Entertainment, a company I helped found 12 years ago. Thunderbird remained the only public company board I served on after I decided a number of years ago to spend the majority of my time on my philanthropic works and as co-chair of International Crisis Group. I remained on Thunderbird's board out of my admiration for Jennifer McCarron's leadership, my respect for the rest of the management team and, more importantly, because we were executing an intelligent growth strategy that set us apart from many of our peers.

Thunderbird's growth has been steady and responsible. Year over year, earnings have grown impressively, and the company is debt free and generating free cash flow. Content buyers love the quality of work and as a function of Thunderbird's impeccable reputation, the company continues to build new relationships. I truly believe Thunderbird is on the right path to grow into a major content provider with continued expansion of its own IP.

Recently, the hedge fund shareholder Voss Capital, LLC launched a proxy contest to replace our entire board with individuals who - in my opinion - had much less expertise in the content sector than current board members. From the negotiations that ensued after they announced their slate, I could see that Voss' sole objective was to put Thunderbird up for sale. There was no other strategic plan.

As the single largest individual shareholder, I believe that putting Thunderbird up for sale is the most irresponsible approach to achieve the best outcome for shareholders. Anyone who knows anything about M&A, especially in this industry, would concur. It would be much more strategic to continue to grow the business and if at some point someone willing to pay full value surfaces, we would seriously consider.

Proxy fights such as this one are expensive and destructive, where the only beneficiaries are lawyers. And regardless of who wins, it's the shareholders who pay the costs.

I respect Thunderbird board's decision to avoid those costs and peril to the company's ongoing business by settling with Voss. However, given my strong views and busy schedule, I have decided it best that I resign, effective immediately.

I sincerely hope that the reconstituted board will determine that the Voss approach is not only wrong, but potentially damaging to shareholder value. I will miss my colleagues at Thunderbird and wish everyone the very best. I will continue to monitor future decisions as an interested shareholder.

SOURCE Fiore Financial Corp.