SoftVest, L.P., Horizon Kinetics LLC, and ART-FGT Family Partners Issue Open Letter to Trustees of Texas Pacific Land Trust
SoftVest calls for an end to the proxy battle more than a few times in this open letter.
In fact, only yesterday Robert Packer, TPL’s Chief Financial Officer, e-mailed Kline D. Oliver, Vice-President of SoftVest Advisors LLC, requesting an updated list of drilled, completed and permitted wells on TPL non-participating royalty interest property that Mr. Oliver maintains based on his dedicated ongoing research. Mr. Oliver provided the list to Mr. Packer this morning, even after being the target of a distasteful attack letter issued by you before the open of the market.
As we trust you know, Mr. Oliver has shared similar information in the past with TPL’s management at their request and at no cost – despite TPL’s offer to pay for such work.
We see no reason why the Trustees cannot have a collaborative relationship with Mr. Oliver, much like TPL’s management has had and continues to have with him. Mr. Oliver is, among other things, a source of deep expertise and knowledge about TPL and the industry which in our view will immensely enrich the Board.
It is time to put this proxy contest behind us: we call on you two Trustees to nominate Mr. Oliver, and avoid disrupting what has historically been a productive working relationship between him and TPL’s management.
However, one of the unescapable consequences of having a charter from the 19th century that limits your governing body to only three individuals is that each of them must bring core areas of competency needed for the success of TPL
Ultimately, we encourage you to put an end to this unnecessary and wasteful proxy contest. We ask that you endorse the nomination of Eric Oliver at the upcoming special meeting and allow him to work collaboratively with you both of you to create a better TPL. The three of you can bring TPL into the 21st century, and transform our joint investment into a modern corporation with an expanded Board with modern fiduciary duties to all shareholders that can include honorable men like General Cook as part of a broader mosaic of skillsets.
If you insist on continuing this unnecessary proxy contest then at a minimum let’s have a town hall meeting where both nominees will have an opportunity to present their respective ideas to TPL’s shareholders, which we think would benefit all shareholders.
It is time for all of us to start working together for the good of TPL.
The Texas Pacific Land Trust Investor 
What could the General, with no O&G experience, provide at Town Hall type meeting that would be of interest to us stockholders. He would be embarrassed trying to come up with relevant answers and comments on the Permian. I will restate that I get more concerned every day about what the Trustees don’t want Mr. Oliver to see once he becomes a Trustee himself. Their choice of pushing hard for a newbie to the industry boggles my mind. It would be the two of them voting and the General saying “Huh” and rubber stamping the issues to make it unanimous.
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