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Article: Allete shareholder seeks spinoff of profitable auto-auction unit; Utility has grown at slower pace.(BUSINESS)
- Article from:
- Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
- Article date:
- January 24, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Star Tribune Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Susan E. Peterson; Staff Writer
A major shareholder of Duluth-based Allete Inc. is pushing the company to spin off its profitable auto auction business, which it acquired in 1995 to diversify and boost its growth prospects beyond its electric utility business.
Alan and Barry Lafer, brothers who operate a hedge fund that owns 1.46 million Allete shares, or a 1.7 percent stake, are supporting a shareholder proposal to split off the Adesa auto auction unit from the Minnesota Power utility operation, Alan Lafer said Thursday. They want shareholders to vote on the split at the annual meeting in May.
"We believe that if the company were split ...