Mathieson accuses Endeavour board of running an ‘insiders club’
Endeavour’s largest shareholder, billionaire Bruce Mathieson, has taken an extraordinary swipe at the hotels and liquor retailing group, describing attempts to prevent the election of an experienced businessman he supports “a cynical attempt to ... entrench the insiders club on the ... board”.
In an increasingly acrimonious dispute, Mr Mathieson wrote to the Endeavour board complaining about the “material value destruction”, adding that the brand positioning for Dan Murphy’s and BWS, two retail chains owned by the company, was “strategically lost”.
Steve Donohue is the chief executive of Endeavour. Ben Searcy
Mr Mathieson, whose son Bruce Mathieson jnr is on the Endeavour board, is backing the election of former Myer chairman Bill Wavish at the company’s annual meeting this year. However, Endeavour chairman Peter Hearl declined to back his election because there was not “sufficient time” to conduct “customary processes it undertakes in selecting and appointing directors, including the associated probity assessments”.
Mr Mathieson, in his letter, said it was “preposterous” not to allow shareholders to vote for Mr Wavish if he had not obtained necessary approvals by the time of the AGM. “There is no realistic prospect that anyone could obtain all necessary regulatory approvals in such a short time frame,” he wrote. “This tactic could only be a cynical attempt to further entrench the insiders club on the Endeavour board.”
Other directors including Rod van Onselen, Anne Brennan and Bruce Mathieson jnr had been elected subject to obtaining all necessary approvals, Mr Mathieson wrote in his letter to Mr Hearl. “I am very concerned about the current and future strategic and operational priorities of the business, and current leadership’s ability to reverse these trends,” he added.
Mr Wavish, a former Woolworths executive, is also being supported by Roger Corbett, the long-time chief executive of the supermarket giant which once owned Endeavour. Mr Corbett, who resigned in 2006, said Dan Murphy’s had “lost the mojo”. “My expertise is really in the Dan Murphy and BWS chains, and I’ve got to say that I think they’re just a disgrace,” he said.
Others, however, are backing Endeavour. Tony Leon, who ran Dan Murphy’s until its sale to Woolworths in 1998, said Endeavour’s chief executive, Steve Donohue, was “the best fellow to operate this business”.
“He knows it better than anyone else. I understand what Mr Corbett said, but it’s not fair because it is still an amazing business,” he said. “They can go and get a new guy, but you think they’d run it better? I don’t want to be rude to my friends at Coles and Metcash, but BWS and Dan Murphy’s do very well.”
Close involvement
In a notice of meeting released on Wednesday, Mr Hearl wrote that Mr Wavish had been “invited to participate in the formal director search process under way and to be considered with other prospective candidates. At the time, he declined to participate in this process. The offer remains open to Mr Wavish to join the process.”
Mr Wavish was closely involved in Woolworths’ liquor and hotels businesses during his time with the company. He has touted his experience leading the re-organisation of part of the businesses into BWS, and the acquisition of large numbers of liquor licences.
After acquiring Dan Murphy’s, Woolworths entered into a partnership with the Mathieson family, creating Australian Leisure and Hospitality, a precursor to Endeavour. The company was listed on the ASX at $6.60 per share. They have fallen 25 per cent in 12 months, closing at $5.27.
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