As ONEOK shareholders prepare to vote this week on a nearly $19 billion merger with Magellan Midstream, ONEOK admits in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission it received a demand letter from one shareholder who believes the company has not released all relevant information.
ONEOK stated that the Demand Letter asserts that certain allegedly material omissions in the company’s joint proxy statement andd prospectus “give rise to violations of Sections 14(a) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.”
The company also said there could be other demand letters or complaints made about the merger. It did not identify the “purported shareholder” who raised the demand.
“Absent new or different allegations that are material or a disclosure obligation under the U.S. federal securities laws, ONEOK will not necessarily disclose such additional demands or complaints.”
ONEOK explained in its SEC fililng that its joint proxy statement and prospectus comply fully with the law and no further disclosure is required under the law.
It said the allegations in the Demand Letter “are entirely without merit” and it “specifically denies all allegations in the Demand Letter that any additional disclosure was or is required.”
Shareholders of ONEOK andd Magellan Midstream will meet September 21 to consider the merger.