Wilson ramps up pressure on HHV board
Wilson Asset Management chairman, Geoff Wilson has continued his campaign against the board of the Hunter Hall Global Value Fund (HHV) and his call for a general meeting to replace the board, claiming the existing directors are over-paid.
In a statement issued today, Wilson said the current HHV board was being paid more than 100 per cent in excess of the remuneration structure proposed by his group and 200 per cent more in the case of the chairman.
He said trust, responsibility and ethics were crucial to listed investment companies’ (LICs’) shareholders as they were invested in a closed capital structure.
“HHV currently contributes $5 million in fees each year to HHV’s manager, Hunter Hall International Limited. Meanwhile, in my view HHV’s directors show little empathy towards their 7,500 shareholders, who face an uncertain future and a nine per cent plus discount to net tangible assets,” Wilson said.
He reiterated his belief that HHV shareholders should be given the opportunity to elect an “absolutely independent board that is unburdened by these conflicts”.
“We have been overwhelmed by support from HHV shareholders, investors, fund managers, stockbrokers and financial advisers. We have had more expressions of support than when we called the general meeting to change the RHG Group board,” he said.
“We lodged our requisition with the HHV board on 14 February 2017, which requires the board to call a general meeting today at the latest with the meeting to be held on or before 18 April 2017. Our decision to call the general meeting was not taken lightly. Unfortunately, after continued communication with the HHV board we believed we had no choice,” Wilson’s statement said.
“We intend to continue to hold the HHV board to account in the lead up to the general meeting as it continues to provide further evidence of poor corporate governance practices,” it said.
“On Friday 3 March 2017, we wrote to Chairman Paul Jensen highlighting certain concerns which could amount to a potential breach of continuous disclosure requirements and the Corporations Act. I note a substantial shareholder notice was announced to the market yesterday following the letter we sent to HHV on Friday.”
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