Highfields Capital Management, a Boston-based investment firm, has sent an open letter to Canadian business seeking support in its bid to get Canadian securities regulators to require greater disclosure regarding the restructuring of Telesystem International Wireless Inc.

On January 16, the firm applied to the Ontario Superior Court seeking to restrain the bid of TIW for units relating to the equity of its largest subsidiary, ClearWave N.V.

In its decision on February 2,the court found that TIW had offered “illegal collateral benefits” to the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Telesystem Ltd. “in order to lock up their Units … so as to make the Bid coercive against the other Unit holders, and by doing so in this way TIW has acted in a manner that is oppressive to the other Unit holders.”

As a result of the court’s finding, TIW was restrained from taking up and paying for any units tendered to the unit exchange offer other than the units of the Caisse, Telesystem Ltd. and Rogers Telecommunications (Quebec) Inc., and was required to make an amended offer on improved terms to all of its other unit holders.

Highfields now says that proper disclosure has not been made by TIW to all of its security holders. It has petitioned the Ontario and Quebec Securities Commissions to order TIW to extend the expiry time of its issuer bid for its Equity Subordinated Debentures to make more disclosure. So far, the petition has not been successful.

The firm says, “To maintain the integrity of the financial markets in Canada, we implore them to take action immediately before irreparable harm is done. Standing by and allowing a company to create an unlevel playing field for non-insiders will only serve to undermine investors’ confidence in the capital markets. Ultimately, this will result in the reluctance of foreign investors such as Highfields to invest in Canada and raise the cost of capital for all companies.”