Shareholders DE Shaw, M&G, Sothic say Petropavlovsk needs change

LONDON, June 14 (Reuters) - Shareholders DE Shaw, M&G (Shanghai: 603899.SS - news) and Sothic said in a statement on Wednesday London-listed gold miner Petropavlovsk (LSE: POG.L - news) 's board needs an overhaul, but they have no intention of taking control of the company.

Shareholders, including M&G and Sothic, have put forward resolutions ahead of the company's annual general meeting next week aimed at replacing Chairman Peter Hambro, who set up the Russian-focused miner in 1994.

Three shareholder advisors - PIRC, Glass Lewis and ISS (LSE: 0QRS.L - news) have all said they recommend opposing the changes.

But in a statement seen by Reuters, DE Shaw, M&G and Sothic said change was overdue.

"Petropavlovsk needs a board with strong, independent directors who can support and constructively challenge management on operational, financial and strategic issues in order to return value to shareholders," it said.

The three said they had no intention of taking control of Petropavlosk and were not acting under the influence of Russian conglomerate Renova, which has also demanded change. (Reporting by Carolyn Cohn and Barbara Lewis)