Centuria doesn’t get the votes to spill Propertylink’s board
Centuria Capital has failed in its attempt to replace Propertylink’s board with approximately 99% of shareholders voting against the resolutions.
In September Centuria requisitioned a meeting to remove Propertylink’s board and to replace it with its six-person slate. At the time, Centuria Capital was looking to stop a hostile takeover by Propertylink for Centuria Industrial. Since then, Propertylink has abandoned its plan to take over Centuria Industrial and is instead considering a takeover offer put forward by ESR Real Estate. The offer from ESR Real Estate was conditional on Propertylink not acquiring Centuria Industrial.
Centuria went ahead with the vote even after Propertylink abandoned its plans to take over Centuria Industrial. Centuria claimed Propertylink did not provide enough information regarding the tabled sale to ESR.
TikForce Shareholders are back
A group of TikForce’s shareholders are looking to reinstate a director that was removed at a meeting in July.
EZR Systems and Alignment Capital have requisitioned a meeting to replace Michael Baum with Andrew Houtas. In July they tried, and failed, to replace the entire board but during the course of that meeting, Baum submitted a resolution to have Houtas removed from the board which was approved.
Another meeting requisitioned by Activists for Accelerate
Accelerate is looking into the validity of the meeting that has been requisitioned by a group of investors led by GTT Global Opportunities. The meeting is looking to remove Yaxi Zhan from the board.
More recently, GTT has requisitioned a third meeting to remove non-executive chairman Grant Mooney and director Terry Toppings.
This third meeting comes just after the same resolutions were defeated at the EGM on the 22 November, where GTT had looked to remove Mooney and Toppings and to appoint executive director Charles Thomas.
Activists looking to wind up Aims
Investors Sandon Capital and Samuel Terry Asset management are looking to wind up Aims Property Securities Fund. The fund has two meetings scheduled for December, one on the 7th and one on the 10th. The activists, whose meeting is on the 10th, claim that Aims called a convention three days earlier to cause confusion which would result in the investors vote failing.
The proposal to wind up Aims was put forward in October, with the hope of distributing cash to the investors.
CGI Glass Lewis back Collection House
CGI Glass Lewis has backed Collection House in its proxy battle with investor Lev Mizikovsky.
Mizikovsky is looking to spill the board of Collection House and nominate two new directors. CGI Glass Lewis has said that Mizikovsky did not provide sufficient reasons for the removal of the board directors and that his two nominees “appear to have little to no experience or credibility” within the industry.
Last year Philip Hennessy was removed from the board after Mizikovsky won a proxy contest.
Shareholders looking to remove Austpac director agree to defer meeting
A group of Austpac Resources shareholders have requisitioned a meeting and are looking to remove the director of the board.
Austpac had said that it would address the resolution at the annual meeting on the 22nd of November, however the results from the meeting have not yet been made public. The company has said that the shareholders have agreed to defer their demand for four weeks so that the parties can talk.
Medibio keeps its board
Shareholders voted in favor of keeping the two directors of Medibio after a group of concerned shareholders holding 6.2% of shares looked to have them removed.
The concerned shareholders had requested the removal of two directors and proposed appointing three new ones in their place. At the annual meeting on the 16th of November, shareholders voted in favor of keeping the two directors.
Pacific Dairies deems requisitioned meeting invalid
Pacific Dairies has announced that the meeting requisitioned by dissident shareholders is invalid.
Last month the shareholders requisitioned a general meeting looking to have three directors replaced. The shareholders were looking to replace Chairman Paul Duckett, Ray Taylor, and Chris Egan with Grant Darling, Ping Huang, Ian Macallan and Alan Mitchell.
The request came a month after two of the directors had confirmed their roles by a “clear majority” of shareholders. At the annual meeting on the 30th of November shareholders will be able to vote on the remuneration report. If not approved, they will have the right to vote on a resolution to spill the board.
Activists are after the directors of Wolf Petroleum
Wolf Petroleum has received a request from investors urging them to call a meeting for shareholders to vote on the removal of three board directors. The activists hold more than 5% of Wolf’s shares. In their place, they are looking to appoint four nominees.
Myer in a trading halt after sales reported to be falling
On Friday Myer went into a trading halt after the Australian Financial Review reported that the first quarter of 2019 was down and that the company’s sales were steeply falling. Myer responded saying the article was an “unlawfully leaked draft with incomplete financial information.”
Activist investor Solomon Lew has been outspoken in calling for refreshment of the Myer board. In October, he had called for the company to release its quarterly results before the annual meeting so that shareholders were better informed in making their voting decisions.
Last year Mr Lew had secured enough votes to deliver a first strike against Myer’s remuneration report. If he succeeds again, resulting in a second strike at the upcoming annual meeting, then Myer shareholders will vote on a resolution to spill the board.
Directors resign from Birimian
Birimian announced that two directors, the executive chairman, and corporate secretary have resigned.
The company said that the resignations of directors Greg Walker, Gillian Swaby, and executive chairman James McKay occurred after shareholders expressed “their view on the future of the company.”
McKay was appointed after a group of shareholders requisitioned a meeting in May 2017 to have him and Michael Langford installed on the board. After their appointment, and the ousting of another chairman and director, the investors withdrew their requisition.
Since the beginning of the year the share price has fallen more than 70%.
Stuart turns on other board members then resigns from Tanga
Ian Stuart has resigned as director of Tanga Resources. Stuart’s resignation comes after he turned on his fellow board members.
Tanga Resources released an addendum to the notice of meeting stating that Stuart planned to back both John Stockley and John Jones being removed from the board. Shareholders, led by Izaak Trajikovski, requisitioned a meeting to remove two of the directors and install Leslie Ingraham. This would change the board from having four to three members.
Stuart was a non-executive director and was due to retire after the next annual meeting, however he was eligible for re-election. The board had recommended voting against his re-election, however since his resignation he is no longer up for re-election.
Merlon Capital puts pressure on AMP to reverse divestment of its Life Insurance business
Australian wealth manager AMP is facing growing pressure to put a controversial divestment of its life insurance unit to a shareholder vote, less than a week after Merlon Capital lambasted the deal as value destroying. AMP’s market capitalization declined by $2.7 billion or 28% in just two days after the deal was announced.
The ASX has said that AMP is allowed to proceed with the divestment without a shareholder vote because the transaction did not meet the necessary thresholds under Chapter 11 to warrant consultation with investors. However ACSI, which represents the interests of funds with AU$2.3 trillion in assets, and sometime activist investor Allen Gray have both called on the regulator to mandate a vote on the deal.
Merlon believes the life insurance unit is worth $2 billion more than currently proposed and pointed to an internal valuation made by the AMP board itself. If AMP moves on with the deal as currently designed, a proxy contest is likely. Merlon said it was prepared to convene a special meeting to spill the board.