Paulson & Co to ask Detour Gold for special meeting for board overhaul

(Reuters) - Activist investor John Paulson's hedge fund on Thursday said it would urge Detour Gold Corp (Toronto:DGC.TO - News) to call a special shareholder meeting to replace a majority of the company's directors, as it pushes for change at the Canadian gold miner.

Paulson & Co's statement comes a day after the parties engaged in a heated public exchange over Detour's failure in publicly disclosing a buyout offer.

Detour did not disclose the buyout offer to Paulson because the company was aware that a third party had already informed him about it, the gold miner said in its latest statement.

The company on Wednesday asked the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) to investigate Paulson, accusing it of "concerning and unlawful behavior" after the hedge fund put out a statement disclosing a buyout offer for Detour from a gold miner.

Paulson called the accusations "false and misleading" and said the hedge fund was in contact with the OSC before it put out the statement.

Paulson & Co, which has a 5.4 percent stake in the gold miner, said on Thursday that the OSC had not reviewed the hedge fund's statement.

The Canadian market watchdog had not "expressed its views on any of the issues raised by Detour and Paulson," the hedge fund said.

Paulson & Co has threatened to replace Detour's board if it does not successfully explore strategic alternatives, including a sale, and look for a new chief executive.

Paulson & Co said it would request for the shareholder meeting to be held no later than Sept. 28.

(Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Anil D'Silva)