More directors are pushing back on shareholder critics, TCorp says
Powerful chief executives of major ASX-listed companies are strong-arming their boards into opposing shareholders who highlight issues around a firm's governance or even potential conflicts of interests, according to NSW's $120 billion sovereign wealth fund TCorp.
An increasing number of directors were comfortable saying that 'they think shareholders have got it wrong' when challenged, TCorp's head of investment stewardship Alexis Cheang told AFR Weekend.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Herald Sun
3 hours ago
- Herald Sun
Peter Stevens dealerships close in Geelong, Ringwood
Don't miss out on the headlines from News. Followed categories will be added to My News. Two major Victorian motorcycle dealerships closed at the weekend following the collapse of the Melbourne-based Peter Stevens retail group. The stores and showrooms at Peter Stevens Geelong and Ringwood have not been sold and have shut permanently, administrators KordaMentha said. And the City Triumph dealership which closed its West Melbourne showroom earlier this year will also not return. The stores could not be saved although a large portion of the business has been taken over, securing 250 jobs. Dozens of staff at the Peter Stevens sites at Mercer St, Geelong, and Maroondah Highway, Ringwood were only told on Friday of the closure. And customers have been left in the dark over parts and accessories orders. Triumph rider Richard Farrar ordered a $500 part from the Peter Stevens Geelong store but has no idea what's happened to his money. 'They obviously knew they were in trouble when I ordered … and it's bordering on obtaining my money deceptively,'' he said. Peter Stevens went into voluntary administration last month saddled with debt, and last week it emerged that creditors faced losses of over $65m including millions in customer deposits. The company was founded by the Chiodo brothers – Vince, Peter and Steve – in 1970 and grew into a national network of motorcycle stores and dealerships. Flagging motorcycle sales and the cost of living crisis has hit the industry hard in recent years. Some parts of the Peter Stevens group have now been taken over by private company Joe Rascal Group and ASX-listed MotorCycle Holdings. The Joe Rascal Group has will acquire the Harley Heaven stores at Dandenong, Ringwood and Melbourne, as well as Ducati South Melbourne. And Brisbane-based MotorCycle Holdings will take over the Peter Stevens Dandenong and Adelaide sites as well as Savage Motorcycles in Perth and the Harley Heaven dealerships in Sydney, Penrith, Perth and Adelaide. MotorCycle Holdings chief executive Matthew Wiesner said the company would maintain the Peter Stevens and Harley Heaven brands. The deals would mean about 250 employees would keep their jobs, Craig Shepard of KordaMentha said. The administrators said it would assist employees from the closed locations 'during the transition to closure'.
AU Financial Review
5 hours ago
- AU Financial Review
Australia's ‘buy everything' super funds show us their KKR side
Late last decade we were writing how industry super funds had changed Australian equity capital markets deals, and takeovers by spearheading ASX-listed company buyouts. It feels like they've hoovered up anything not bolted down since. But the onslaught of FY25 results – chief investment officers' once-a-year chance to remind investors their retirement is in solid hands – signals a new chapter. Some of this year's gains were made selling typically sticky and illiquid infrastructure and private equity assets, not just buying and holding on.
The Age
7 hours ago
- The Age
Mystery $50 billion Chinese medical fortune collapses in days
When Yat-Gai Au was worth $US33 billion ($50 billion) on paper, he wasn't in his Hong Kong office. One week later, when his net worth plunged to $US10.1 billion, he wasn't around either. Officers at the headquarters of Regencell Bioscience Holdings said both times that Au made only short visits there, before turning away reporters. The firm, a NASDAQ-listed, Cayman Islands-incorporated traditional Chinese medicine company, occupies the whole ninth floor of a tower in Hong Kong's bustling Causeway Bay, including a reception area with a large table tennis table. Little is still known about the tiny, money-losing company whose shares exploded 82,000 per cent higher and suddenly made Au, its chief executive officer with an 86 per cent stake, richer on paper than some of the city's tycoons like Li Ka-shing. The fleeting nature of its rip-roaring rally has captivated and mystified observers from the US to Hong Kong. Morning Brew, a popular business account on X, flagged its stock move and wondered: 'Is there something I'm missing?' Regulators in the US, which closely monitor wild swings in stock prices, might soon be asking the same question, according to experts. Loading The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the watchdog for broker-dealers, has repeatedly said small, cheap stocks are more susceptible to fraud. These companies can be targets for pump-and-dump schemes in which frauds inflate the stock price and quickly sell their shares. The US Securities and Exchange Commission, meanwhile, has been increasingly wary about companies listed on US exchanges that are based overseas, and Regencell checks both boxes. The regulator on June 4 called on the public to weigh in on whether the agency needed to amend the definition of what's called a foreign private issuer, potentially limiting the number of companies that qualify for special status that lets them avoid filing quarterly financial reports or disclosing when executives buy or sell company shares. 'This is an example of very unusual movements in share prices,' said Richard Harris, founder and chief executive of Port Shelter Investment Management in Hong Kong. 'These movements could certainly trigger interest by investigators.'
