Nothing like public recriminations through letters intended for investors to get the bad proxy blood pumping. The latest well-publicized battle involves Far East Energy Corp. and activist hedge fund Sofaer Capital, and it ain’t pretty. Last month, Sofaer, self-described as one of Far East’s biggest shareholders, expressed disgust with recent actions by the Far East board and called upon fellow shareholders “to halt these disgraceful actions and protect the rights” of investors. London-based Sofaer charged the energy company with making a “sweetheart deal” with some unnamed “institutional investors,” whereby they would “stuff the ballot box in favor of management’s candidates” for the board of directors. Sofaer goes on to point to the company’s “shockingly poor performance” over the past three years whereby share price is about one-fourth as much as that of an investment in the S&P 500.

Now, Far East is taking its shot, and in its open letter the energy company urged stockholders to reject the upstart investor’s nominees, who it says represents “death spiral financing” and “who have no real plans for the company...other than to enrich itself at your expense.” Just to make sure, shareholders didn’t miss the point, Far East punctuated its open letter with all-cap standouts, such as, “DO NOT JEOPORDIZE YOUR INVESTMENT BY TURNING OVER CONTROL OF YOUR COMPANY TO A SELF-INTERESTED HEDGE FUND.” The annual meeting, at which shareholders will select a slate for the board, is set for Dec. 15, so there’s still plenty of time for both times to continue their volleys. It’s only a guess, but perhaps what with the latest political elections at its nastiest, ‘tis the season to be mudslinging.