AGL chairman fires as much as keep away from changing into Cannon-Brookes’ fodder

For this reason McKenzie has exercised a spark of defiance coming into the corporate’s annual shareholder assembly by rejecting three of the 4 administrators Grok put ahead to hitch the AGL board.

To have succumbed to Grok’s wish-list of board renewal candidates would have been the equal of McKenzie handing Cannon-Brookes the keys to the chief ground and the corporate seal, then leaping on a cruise liner for an prolonged all-ports world tour.

McKenzie has accepted one candidate, Mark Twidell, a former Tesla Power director, on the premise that he brings new abilities to the board.

However she was not pleased to grant the rest of Cannon-Brookes’ wish-list administrators, former Power Safety Board chairman Kerry Schott, or skilled administrators John Pollaers and Christine Holman.

The larger company governance situation for AGL shouldn’t be a lot whether or not Grok’s nominees are succesful – they nearly definitely are – it’s whether or not their appointment would make the present board and administration redundant by way of operating the present.

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Earlier within the yr Grok, in league with Canadian asset supervisor Brookfield, made a standard takeover bid for AGL which the board rejected. At the moment, a much less environmentally enlightened AGL was trying to demerge its retail power property from its soiled power technology property – an consequence Grok argues would impede and long-date the transition to decarbonisation.

AGL rejected the takeover. It was arguably a deadly mistake.

Since then, Grok has managed to scupper AGL’s demerger plans and persuade the board of the deserves of a speedier transition in the direction of changing into a clear powerhouse.

When the shareholders meet in 4 weeks, historical past will display whether or not Cannon-Brookes’ victory over AGL is full.

If the 4 administrators he has proposed for AGL are voted up, the prevailing administrators shall be in an untenable place.

However for Grok, profitable over shareholders presents the next hurdle for the grasp activist. He’ll want the help of fifty per cent of the voting share base in contrast with the 25 per cent he wanted to torpedo the AGL demerger.

And there shall be some shareholders that may understandably resist handing de facto management to Grok with no bid – which might have attracted a premium value.

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