Canada’s McCain clan is back in open conflict, with Eleanor McCain triggering a shareholder mechanism that she says forces relatives to buy out her stake in the holding company that controls McCain Foods.
Eleanor is seeking an exit she frames as philanthropy-focused, diversification, and estate planning, with her spokesperson saying she wants the matter concluded “in a fair, timely and confidential fashion.”
The holding company responded that McCain Foods is committed to treating all shareholders fairly and balancing stakeholder and long-term company interests.
McCain Foods is owned through a family holding company governed by a seven-member board that family members call the “baby board,” while the operating company has a separate board with a majority of independent directors, designed to keep the business insulated from family disputes.
Board control is apportioned across branches as ownership spreads into a fourth generation: heirs of Wallace and Harrison McCain each hold two seats, offspring of brothers Andrew and Robert each appoint one director, and one seat is reserved for an independent director.
Eleanor’s demand revives a wound that sources trace to the 1990s succession battle between co-founders Wallace and Harrison McCain, culminating in October 1994 after 10 weeks of arbitration in Fredericton, a dispute that sources say still shapes how some Harrison descendants view parts of Wallace’s branch.
Valuation is the obvious fault line because McCain Foods is private while the buyout economics depend on what “fair” means on paper. Notes peg McCain Foods at $20 billion, implying Eleanor’s stake could be worth more than $1 billion, a payout scale that can be difficult to execute without reshaping control and liquidity across the family.
McCain Foods has doubled sales since CEO Max Koeune took over in 2017, employs 22,000 people, sells $16-billion a year of frozen potato products plus brands like Pizza Pockets and Deep’n Delicious cakes in 160 countries, runs 54 factories across six continents, and sources from 3,500 independent farmers in 16 countries.
Her case also leans on intra-family precedent: she argues the resistance to her payout conflicts with how the family handled her brother Michael McCain’s position after he and Wallace exited and took control of Maple Leaf Foods in 1995, followed by a post-2011 restructuring that sources say reduced Michael’s holding-company interest and increased Eleanor’s share.
Michael is now executive chair of Maple Leaf and pork producer Canada Packers Inc., spun out of Maple Leaf in October, with his combined stakes valued at approximately $1.4 billion, while Eleanor, who never worked in the business, has built a music career with seven albums and holds significant personal assets including a $10.6 million Toronto home bought in 2020 on a 2.3-acre lot.
The family’s legal posture is already formalized, with each side retaining heavyweight counsel including Torys LLP and Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, reflecting what participants describe as a messy relationship and a shareholder agreement open to interpretation.
Information for this story was found via The Globe And Mail and the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
