A Brewing Family Feud Poses Risks for Molson Beer Empire
MONTREAL -- One morning in May, Ian Molson strode into the executive offices of Molson Inc. looking for his cousin Eric H. Molson, who had been chairman of their family's beer company for more than 16 years.
Ian found his cousin in a hallway. "Is it true that you are opposed to my succeeding you as chairman?" Ian says he demanded to know. Eric confirmed he didn't want his cousin to take over, according to Ian.
Hours later, Ian resigned as deputy chairman, deepening a painful rift in one of North America's oldest business families. Ian had expected to one day be made chairman, even though he hailed from a branch of the family that had been sidelined. Eric, by contrast, considered his close relatives to be "real" Molsons, and was uncomfortable with his distant cousin's ambition.
While Eric appears to have won the first round, the battle for control between the two cousins is likely to intensify now that Ian is leading a shareholder revolt against his cousin. Already, members of the board, shareholders and family members are taking sides.
As is often the case in family business dynasties, the feud stems from old wounds. According to former and current directors, family members and executives, its origins stretch back two centuries to the tangled alliances of the company's founding family, and a question that has haunted generations: Who are the "real" Molsons? Only the controlling shareholders or the wider family too?
At a time when the global beer market is consolidating in the hands of a few big players, the family schism and boardroom divisions make Molson -- currently valued at $3 billion -- a target for a hostile offer, analysts say. The family controls the 218-year-old company through a dual-stock structure; Eric and his only brother control over half the voting shares. Lloyd Barber, who retired from Molson's board last month, says Eric has "no intention" of selling, but notes that the board is duty-bound to examine any offers.
Molson, meanwhile, is battling to preserve its position in Canada and find new markets overseas. In the past 15 years, analysts say, Molson's Canadian market share has fallen to 44% from 53%.
At Molson's annual meeting last week, five of the company's 15 board members didn't stand for re-election. In letters to the board, three -- including Ian -- cited the family split as a factor in their resignations. Several large institutional shareholders and family members say they have told the company they would like Eric to step down, and a third of the company's public shareholders withheld their votes for a new slate of directors.
"Time to move on," says Claire Molson, 70 years old. She supports her nephew Ian over her cousin Eric because, "he has all the capabilities to lead the company."
Meanwhile, Eric's close relatives are lining up behind him. "We are intensely loyal to our brother," said Eric's sister, Cynthia Molson Baxter, who is in her late 60s. As for Ian, she says, "he was not part of our family.... I don't even know what schools he went to."
Ian Molson, 49, is an immaculately groomed banker who went to Harvard. He substantially increased his holdings in the family business with his own money after a career in London with Credit Suisse First Boston. These days, he compares himself with Roy Disney, who's waging a battle against Walt Disney Co. CEO Michael Eisner. "In the interests of the company and its shareholders, a succession plan should be put into place now and Eric should retire," Ian says.
Eric Molson, 66, is a shy man who is uncomfortable speaking in public. He becomes animated talking about two subjects, friends say -- beer and hockey. He's been known to peer into people's refrigerators to make sure they're drinking Molson, friends say. Eric's supporters say he doesn't get enough credit for his business acumen, and that Ian's aggressiveness and impatience have destabilized the company. Eric didn't respond to calls or written requests seeking comment.
Speaking on behalf of the company, Molson Chief Executive Dan O'Neill says Eric "has provided consistent leadership with a very clear vision for the company" and that Ian resigned for "personal reasons."
The Molson family started brewing in the 1780s on the banks of the St. Lawrence River when John H. Molson, a 19-year-old British immigrant, acquired a share in a log-cabin brewery. He later bought out his partner for ￡100. Business boomed when the British War Office purchased six pints of weak beer a day for every soldier, according to "The Molsons: Their Lives and Times," written by another Molson cousin.
Molson grew into a dominant player in the Canadian beer market by the 1960s, vying only with Labatt, now owned by Interbrew SA, the Belgium-based brewing giant, for the title of best-selling brew. Molson, which went public in 1945, is now as ubiquitous north of the border as Budweiser is in the U.S.
With their wealth and fame, the Molsons sat at the center of a close-knit network that dominated corporate Canada. They lived in imposing houses in Montreal's leafy enclave of Westmount, avoided publicity and led quiet, comfortable lives.
Ownership of the company was passed down to the family's eldest sons, but the top operating jobs at the company were sometimes given to outsiders or Molson relatives with the most business talent.
The system worked well for the company but created a split in the family. According to several family members and company directors, the shareholders considered themselves "real" or "brewery line" Molsons and viewed other family members as hired help.
In the late 1960s, Eric's branch controlled the shares and the top operating job. Eric's uncle, Hartland Molson, was a big shareholder and was also viewed as the most competent Molson. He later became a Canadian senator. Family members say Hartland wanted his cousin David Molson, Ian's uncle, to succeed him as chairman.
But in 1971, David and his brothers sold the Montreal Canadiens hockey team to the Bronfman family. Hartland wanted to keep the team in the family and was furious. That ended David's chances of becoming chairman. The job went to a series of non-family members before eventually going to Eric in 1988. Eric also inherited his father's voting shares.
Even though Ian's branch of the family was out of favor after the sale of the hockey team, Ian told relatives he wanted one day to run the brewery. Today, he says the family's past has nothing to do with the current dispute.
On the Molson board, directors saw Eric as "a highly principled guy," says former board member Warren Chippindale. "Eric does listen" and often acquiesced to the board's wishes, he says.
As Eric was rising to the position of chairman, Ian was learning the ropes. As a teenager in the early 1970s, he worked summers at the brewery, manning the bottling line and cleaning waste from returned bottles.
One summer, Eric introduced himself and the two began a modestly friendly relationship, Ian recalls. When Ian became an investment banker, he continued to study the business and visited the brewery when he was in Montreal.
By the mid-1990s, Molson was in trouble. It had diversified into a hodge-podge of businesses, including a furniture manufacturer, a lumber company called Beaver Lumber, and a Canadian maker of pipes and furnaces. In a deal that proved economically disastrous, Molson sold control of its brewing operations to Australia's Foster's Group Ltd. and what is now SABMiller. Molson, which by this time was more than just a brewer, was anticipating tough competition from U.S. beer makers as trade barriers fell.
Ian says he was invited by his cousin in 1996 to join the company's board and help clean up its portfolio. He says Eric led him to believe that he'd rise up the ranks if successful. Ian used his deal-making skills to sell noncore businesses and buy back control of Molson's beer operations. Molson's sales surged and its stock price, which had stagnated for over a decade, more than tripled to almost $30 in 2001.
Ian was also a driving force behind one of the company's bigger failures: The 2002 acquisition of Cervejarias Kaiser SA -- Brazil's No. 2 brewer after Cia. de Bebidas das Americas -- for $765 million. Because of unexpected competition in that market, analysts say, Kaiser is now valued at half of what Molson paid.
In the late 1990s, Ian cemented his position by buying 10% of Molson's voting stock from Sen. Molson, who died two years ago. Ian says Sen. Molson told him at the time that he had little faith in Eric's leadership.
The board assumed Ian would become chairman when Eric retired, three directors say. Eric supported the idea, they say, although its timing remained uncertain. In a rare interview with Canada's Globe and Mail, Eric said that Ian "would be a candidate for chairman when I hang it up."
It's not clear what triggered the falling out between the two cousins, but it seems that Ian's ambition was a factor. In 2002, Eric voiced concerns to two directors that Ian was overshadowing him, those directors say. According to one person familiar with the matter, at board meetings Ian would interrupt Eric, who takes time to get his points across. Ian also met with Molson shareholders and bankers without Eric, carrying the message that his cousin would soon be stepping down, according to this person. Ian says these meetings were also attended by Mr. O'Neill, the CEO.
Eric learned of Ian's visits and was annoyed, a person familiar with his thinking says. He told family members and company directors that Ian was not a "real Molson," and therefore not fit for the job, those people say. Eric had long considered his branch to be the dominant "brewery line," family members in both camps say. He also told board members he hoped some day to make one of his sons chairman.
Mr. O'Neill says he believes Eric wouldn't have said Ian wasn't fit to be chairman, because filling that position is a job for the board.
Within a short time, their relationship badly deteriorated. In mid-2002, Ian requested an increase in his $300,000-a-year pay package. The board's human-resources committee agreed to a $100,000 raise with Eric's consent, according to three board members. But at the full board meeting, Eric abruptly changed his mind. He argued that Molson family members shouldn't profit from the company, according to three board members.
Matthew Barrett, CEO of Barclays Bank PLC and head of the human-resources committee, was furious about the about-face and resigned from the board. Ian coaxed him back without consulting his cousin, something that further angered Eric, Ian concedes. (At the next board meeting, Ian's raise was approved.)
At a board meeting in Rio de Janeiro in January 2003, Eric surprised the board by announcing a broad review of Molson's corporate governance. In June, word leaked out to Ian that the study recommended eliminating Ian's position as deputy chairman. After hearing about the report's conclusions, Ian confronted his cousin. "Is there something from this governance report that you and I need to talk about?" he recalls asking. According to Ian, Eric said no, and shrugged his shoulders.
Molson CEO Mr. O'Neill says he can't recall the exact reasons for the recommendation, but says it was aimed at putting all directors on "an equal footing" when it comes to company information. It's not clear what role Eric had in the report's creation.
At a meeting in November, the board rejected getting rid of Ian, saying he was critical to the company. Mr. Barrett sat Ian and Eric together in a room and suggested they try and work "professionally and harmoniously," according to three board members familiar with the meeting.
Then in March of this year, Eric moved against one of Ian's strongest board supporters, Donald Drapkin, chairman of New York-based MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc., the holding company of financier Ronald O. Perelman. In a telephone call, Eric Molson asked Mr. Drapkin to step down from the board, according to a person familiar with the matter. Eric said the board's governance committee had decided Mr. Drapkin wouldn't be able to comply with a new rule requiring directors to attend 75% of board meetings in person, this person said. Before the rule took effect, Mr. Drapkin had listened to many meetings on the phone.
Mr. Drapkin agreed not to stand for re-election, and fired off an angry letter to Eric criticizing the way the matter was handled.
Barclays' Mr. Barrett had already decided not to stand for re-election, because of the weight of other commitments. In March, he used his resignation letter to warn of "growing fractions and tensions on the board." If the rumors of the troubles reached the public, Mr. Barrett wrote, Molson could put the company "in play."
Mr. O'Neill says Messrs. Barrett and Drapkin resigned "for personal reasons," without giving more details.
The tension boiled over in early May. At a dinner the night before a board meeting, directors including Messrs. Drapkin and Barrett lobbied for Eric Molson's ouster, according to several board members. Neither of the cousins were present.
The next morning, Ian says he walked into his cousin's office and asked if he would ever be chairman, only to be shot down by Eric.
At the board meeting, the directors told Mr. Drapkin they hadn't recommended he leave the board, and asked him to reconsider, according to several board members. Mr. Drapkin told the meeting, "I won't serve on any board with Eric Molson as chairman," according to three people who attended.
Minutes later Ian Molson stood up and announced his own resignation, he recalls. The move was designed to force the board to push for Eric's ouster instead. Ian says he told the board that Eric Molson's refusal to work with him had "destabilized the company." Mr. Barrett then asked Eric Molson to step down. "Eric, you're past your sell-by date," he said, referring to industry parlance for expired beer, according to several board members who were present.
The directors who weren't stepping down went into a private meeting out of the cousins' earshot. At the end of the second meeting, the board decided not to change Eric's status at the company.
During Molson's annual meeting this month, a family shareholder asked Eric if he had ever refused to name his cousin as chairman. He replied: "I don't believe I ever said that."
Ian says the battle is just beginning. In his resignation letter he charged that Eric's "refusal to conduct yourself properly ... has destabilized our board and our management." He's canvassing shareholders to support a new chairman -- even if it isn't him -- and is lobbying family members to pool votes and blunt Eric's voting control.
"I'm not give up on a lifelong dream because I've encountered this dysfunctional behavior," Ian says.
家族恩怨撼动Molson啤酒酿造帝国
今年5月的一个早晨，伊恩?莫尔森(Ian Molson)跨进Molson Inc. (Cl A)的经理办公室，寻找他的堂兄埃里克?莫尔森(Eric Molson)。埃里克担任这个从事啤酒酿制的家族公司的董事长已经超过16个年头了。
伊恩在走廊上看到了埃里克，于是逼问这位堂兄是否真的反对自己接任董事长一职。伊恩事后称，埃里克当时明确表示，他不想让这位堂弟继任。
几个小时后，伊恩就辞去了副董事长的职位，从而使得这个堪称北美最为古老家族企业的内部矛盾就此进一步加剧。伊恩原指望有朝一日成为董事长，虽然他系出旁门。而埃里克则认为自己的近亲才是莫尔森家族的嫡系传人，故此对远亲伊恩的野心颇感不快。
表面上埃里克取得了初步胜利，但伊恩现在率领一些股东造反，因此这两位堂兄弟之间的权利之争有可能升级。公司内的董事、股东以及莫尔森家族成员早已各执一词，分成了两大阵营。
与其他家族企业一样，莫尔森家族的这场争斗源远流长。根据老一辈和现任董事、莫尔森家族成员和高级管理人员的说法，莫尔森家族的历史可追溯到两个世纪前公司创建时纠缠不清的家族联姻。而长期萦绕在家族后人脑海中的一个问题就是：谁才是“真正“的莫尔森传人？是仅限于控股股东，还是包括其他家族成员？
分析师们说，眼下屈指可数的几家大公司正在整合全球啤酒市场，而莫尔森家族及公司董事会的内讧使市值30亿美元的Molson成了敌意收购的目标。莫尔森家族是通过双重股权结构把持著拥有218年历史的Molson Inc的。埃里克和他唯一的弟弟控制著一半以上的有表决权的股票。上个月刚退休的公司董事劳埃德?巴伯(Lloyd Barber)说，埃里克“无意“出售手中的股票，但他指出，公司董事会有责任审查任何出售股权的行为。
与此同时，Molson正使尽浑身解数来保持自己在加拿大的地位，并同时在海外发掘新的市场。分析师们指出，过去15年里该公司在加拿大的市场占有率已从53%降至44%。
在上周召开的年度会议上，Molson的15位董事中有5位不赞成重新选举董事。在致董事会的信函中，包括伊恩在内的3位董事称莫尔森家族的内讧是他们辞职的原因之一。另有一些大型机构投资者和莫尔森家族成员则表示，他们已表达了希望埃里克下台的愿望，此外Molson三分之一的公众股东不同意重新选举董事。
现年70岁的克莱尔?莫尔森(Claire Molson)说：“现在是进行变革的时候了。“她支持自己的侄子伊恩担任董事长，因为“他具备领导这家公司的所有能力“。
而埃里克的近亲则为这位现任董事长摇旗呐喊。他的姐姐、年近70的辛西娅(Cynthia Molson Baxter)说：“我们完全支持我们的弟弟。“至于伊恩，她表示：“他不属于我们家族……我甚至不知道他在哪里上的学。“
现年49岁的伊恩毕业于哈佛大学(Harvard)，是一位风度翩翩的银行家。他曾在瑞士信贷第一波士顿(Credit Suisse First Boston Corp., CSF.YY)驻伦敦的分支机构工作过，之后用自己的钱大量增持了Molson的股权。如今伊恩把自己比作向沃尔特-迪斯尼公司(Walt Disney Co., DIS)的现任首席执行长沃尔特?迪斯尼(Walt Disney)发起挑战的罗伊?迪斯尼(Roy Disney)。伊恩说：“为了维护公司及其股东的利益，现在应当制定董事长继任计划，埃里克应当退休了。“
埃里克今年66岁。他生性见腆，每次面对公众发表演讲都会显得局促不安。朋友们说，只有两个话题会令埃里克说起来眉飞色舞，那就是啤酒和曲棍球，他还喜欢打开人们的冰箱，看看他们是否饮用Molson的啤酒。埃里克的支持者们称他那敏锐的商业头脑并没有得到大家的充分赏识，而伊恩的急功近利扰乱了公司的正常运营。埃里克回应记者的电话和书面采访。
Molson的现任首席执行长丹?奥尼尔(Dan O'Neill)出面代表公司说，埃里克非常明确公司的发展方向，领导风格始终如一，而伊恩辞职是出于个人原因。
莫尔森家族的啤酒酿造史始于十八世纪八十年代，当时19岁的英国移民约翰?莫尔森(John H. Molson)买进了圣劳伦斯河(St. Lawrence River)岸边一个啤酒作坊的股份。他后来以100英镑买下了合作伙伴手中的其余股权。由莫尔森家族成员撰写的新书《莫尔森家族：他们的生活和时代》(The Molsons: Their Lives and Times)中披露，约翰的生意随著英国战争办公室(British War Office)每天为每个士兵购买6品脱的淡啤酒而一下子兴隆起来。
Molson到上世纪六十年代发展成加拿大啤酒市场上一家举足轻重的企业，只有比利时啤酒业巨擘Interbrew SA (INTB)旗下的Labatt能与之一争高下。Molson于1945年上市，目前在加拿大的地位相当于美国的百威啤酒(Budweiser)。
富甲一方且名声显赫的莫尔森家族成了加拿大企业界备受关注的焦点。他们居住在蒙特利尔林木茂密的韦斯特蒙(Westmount)的豪宅里，躲开了公众的视线，过起了宁静舒适的生活。
Molson的所有权一贯传给莫尔森家族的长子，但有时那些拥有经商天赋的外姓人或莫尔森家族的亲戚会掌管公司的经营大权。
这种模式很适合Molson，但不适合莫尔森家族。一些家族成员和公司董事称，股东们都认为自己才是嫡系传人，而其他家族成员只不过是雇来的帮手。
上世纪60年代晚期，埃里克所属的家族支系获得了控股权和经营权。他的叔叔哈特兰德(Hartland Molson)成了公司的大股东，并被视为家族中最能干的人。哈特兰德后来成了加拿大议会参议员。莫尔森家族成员说，哈特兰德希望伊恩的叔叔、自己的堂弟戴维(David Molson)接替自己担任董事长。
但在1971年，戴维和他的兄弟们将Montreal Canadiens曲棍球队卖给了布朗夫曼(Bronfman)家族，这让本想保留该球队的哈特兰德勃然大怒。于是，戴维就失去了成为董事长的机会。董事长一职后来由数位非家族成员担任，最终于1988年落到了埃里克头上。埃里克还继承了他父亲的具有表决权的股份。
虽然伊恩所属的家族支系在出售曲棍球队后遭遇冷落，他本人仍向亲友们表达了希望有朝一日执掌公司大权的愿望。他现在表示，莫尔森家族的过去与当前的争执毫无关系。
曾担任Molson董事的沃伦?奇平多尔(Warren Chippindale)说，董事们认为埃里克是个“非常自律的人“他说，埃里克的确会听取董事们的意见，并常常默许他们的计划。
当埃里克荣登董事长宝座时，伊恩还在一点一滴地积累经验。在上世纪70年代，当伊恩还是个十几岁的少年时，他就利用暑假在公司打工，监控灌装线并清理退回的空瓶子。
伊恩回忆说，有一年夏天，埃里克主动介绍了自己，两人就开始了不温不火的友好交往。当伊恩后来成为投资银行家时，他仍继续钻研Molson的业务，逗留蒙特利尔期间还频频造访。
Molson到上世纪90年代中期陷入了困境。多元化策略使公司变成了一个大杂烩，旗下业务包括一个家族制造厂、一个名为Beaver Lumber的木材公司和一家管道和炉子生产厂。Molson还把酿酒业务的控制权出售给了澳大利亚的Foster's Group Ltd，即如今的SABMiller。此举使Molson在经济上损失惨重。此刻的Molson只不过是家啤酒生产商，还将面临因贸易壁垒消除而大举入侵的美国啤酒商的激烈竞争。
伊恩说，他的堂兄在1996年邀请自己加盟Molson的董事会，帮助清理过于杂乱的业务。他说，埃里克让自己相信如果有所作为，自己就能不断晋升。伊恩运用自己在商场上的经验出售了Molson的非核心业务，并回购了啤酒业务的控制权。该公司的销售额出现了飙升，而徘徊了十多年的股价在2001年上涨了3倍多，接近30美元。
不过，伊恩对Molson的一大败笔也负有一定责任：该公司在2002年以7.65亿美元收购了仅次于Cia. de Bebidas das Americas的巴西第二大酿酒商Cervejarias Kaiser SA。分析师们说，由于当地市场风云变幻，Kaiser目前的价值只及Molson当初收购价的一半。
在90年代晚期，伊恩通过从哈特兰德手中购得Molson 10%具有表决权的股票巩固了自己在公司中的地位（哈特兰德于两年前去世）。伊恩说，哈特兰德参议员当时告诉自己，他对埃里克的领导能力没什么信心。
Molson的三名董事称，公司董事会一致认为当埃里克退休时伊恩将接任董事长。这几位董事说，埃里克也支持这种观点，虽然具体时间尚未确定。很少接受采访的埃里克曾对加拿大《环球邮报》(The Globe and Mail)表示，伊恩“将在我退休之际成为董事长的候选人之一“。
目前尚不清楚是什么引起两位堂兄弟反目，不过伊恩的锋芒毕露也许是个原因。公司的两位董事说，埃里克曾在2002年向他们吐露了自己的担忧，他觉得伊恩风头太甚，把自己压下去了。一位熟悉内情的人士称，伊恩在董事会会议上常常打断埃里克，因为后者总是慢条斯理地阐述自己的观点。伊恩还撇开埃里克，独自与Molson的股东及银行家们会面，似乎是在暗示他的这位堂兄即将下台。而伊恩则声称，他是与公司首席执行长奥尼尔一道会见股东和银行家的。
一位了解埃里克的人士说，埃里克在得知伊恩的上述举动后很恼火。他对家族成员和公司董事们说，伊恩根本不属于莫尔森家族，因此不适合担任董事长。两大阵营的家族成员们都表示，埃里克一直认为自己所属的那一分支才是具有主导地位的“啤酒酿造传人“。他还对董事们说，他希望有一天自己的一个儿子能成为董事长。
奥尼尔则表示，他认为埃里克不会说伊恩不适合担任董事长，因为只有董事会有权决定由谁来出任董事长。
两人的关系一下子就急剧恶化了。在2002年年中，伊恩要求提高自己的30万美元的年薪。Molson的三位董事说，董事会下属的人力资源委员会在征得了埃里克的同意后决定给伊恩加薪10万美元。但在董事全体会议上，埃里克突然改变了主意。他指出，莫尔森家族成员不应当从公司渔利。
巴克莱银行(Barclays Bank PLC)的首席执行长兼Molson人力资源委员会主席马休?巴雷特(Matthew Barrett)对埃里克的突然变脸十分气愤，于是离开了董事会。而伊恩在没有与埃里克商量的情况下就好言相劝，动员巴雷特回到了董事会，这进一步触怒了埃里克。伊恩也承认了这一点。（在接下来的董事会会议上，伊恩的加薪请求获得了批准。）
在去年1月于里约热内卢召开的董事会会议上，埃里克出人意料地宣布要对Molson的公司治理进行全面审查。当年6月，伊恩得到消息说此次审查提议免去自己的副董事长职位。得知这一结论之后，伊恩找到了堂兄。他回忆自己当时质问埃里克说：“关于这份公司治理报告，你我之间需要谈谈吗？“而埃里克只是耸了耸肩，给予了否定的回答。
奥尼尔说他现在想不起给出上述建议的具体原因，但表示，进行审查旨在让所有董事都能平等地获得公司信息。目前还不清楚埃里克在此份报告中扮演了什么角色。
在去年11月的一次会议上，Molson董事会拒绝解除伊恩的职务，称他是举足轻重的人物。熟悉内情的3位董事称，巴雷特让伊恩和埃里克坐在一间房间里，建议两人试著“友好而本著职业精神“一起共事。
接著在今年3月，埃里克开始拿伊恩在董事会最有力的支持者、纽约MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc的董事长唐纳德?德普金(Donald Drapkin)开刀。据一位熟悉内情的人士称，埃里克在电话中请德普金离开董事会。埃里克声称，董事会下属的公司治理委员会认为德普金无法满足一项要求董事必须亲自参加75%的董事会会议的新规定。在新规定生效前，德普金很多次都是通过电话旁听董事会会议。
德普金表示同意不再谋求连任董事，但给埃里克写了一封信，对此事的处理方式给予了愤怒的指责。
巴雷特则出于其他原因早已决定不再谋求连任。在今年3月的辞职信中，他警告董事会内的分歧和紧张状态有可能进一步升级。他在信中写道，如果关于公司有麻烦的流言传到公众的耳朵里，莫尔森家族可是在拿公司的前途“开玩笑了“。
奥尼尔则表示巴雷特和德普金的辞职是“出于个人原因“，他没有给出具体解释。
紧张局面到5月初终于达到了高潮。Molson的几位董事说，在董事会会议召开前一天的晚餐上，包括德普金和巴雷特在内的一些董事呼吁大家将埃里克赶下台。埃里克和伊恩均不在场。
伊恩说，次日早晨当自己走进埃里克的办公室，询问自己是否将成为董事长时，埃里克一口回绝了。
在此次会议上，董事们告诉德普金他们并不赞成他离开董事会，并请求德普金三思。据三位与会者称，德普金向大会表示，“我不会在埃里克担任董事长的董事会里担任任何职务“。
几分钟后，伊恩站出来宣布辞职，此举旨在迫使董事会敦促埃里克离职。伊恩回忆说，他告诉董事会，埃里克拒绝与自己共事的举动扰乱了公司的经营。巴雷特接著请求埃里克辞去董事长。几位与会董事说，巴雷特当时说：“埃里克，你已经过了最迟销售期了“。这里的最迟销售期是行业术语，指的是因未能及时销售而导致啤酒过期的现象。
其余董事随后避开埃里克和伊恩，召开了一个秘密会议。会议最终决定不改变埃里克在公司的地位。
在Molson本月召开的年会上，一位身为莫尔森家族成员的股东询问埃里克是否拒绝提名自己的堂弟出任董事长。埃里克回答说：“我相信自己从未这么说。“
伊恩表示，战斗才刚刚开始。他在辞职信中指责拒绝循规蹈矩的埃里克给董事会和公司造成了不良影响。他目前正在怂恿股东支持他人担任董事长，即使不是他自己，并游说莫尔森家族成员通过集中投票改变埃里克独揽大权的现状。
伊恩说：“我不会因为碰到了不公正待遇就放弃毕生的梦想。“
