Cromwell Property Group has elected two new directors to the board and is recommending shareholders vote against nominated director, activist investor Gary Weiss.
Cromwell says it has elected former Stockland executive Lisa Scenna and former Rothschild director and Dexus Property Group executive Tanya Cox.
Cromwell has also elected existing director Leon Blitz as deputy chairman.
It comes after major shareholder ARA last week lifted its stake to almost 19.7 per cent and nominated Gary Weiss to join the board, as first revealed by DataRoom online on Thursday.
Tensions between Cromwell Property Group and its major shareholder ARA have been escalating.
It is understood that both Dr Weiss and Mr Weightman have scheduled separate meetings with proxy houses this week on matters to do with Cromwell.
ARA is expected to call an extraordinary general meeting at the company’s annual general meeting in November if matters are not resolved.
Cromwell recently rescheduled its AGM from November 20 to November 28.
Dr Weiss is a board member of the Straits Trading Company, which owns 21 per cent of ARA.
Should Dr Weiss be elected, it could be a case of history repeating itself in the property space.
He was a director of the shopping centre giant Westfield Group for more than a decade and is thought to have strong credentials when it comes to offering expertise within the boardroom.
Most recently, he is known for his moves to shake up Dreamworld theme park owner Ardent Leisure.
Dr Weiss and other directors of Ariadne called an EGM at Ardent to shake up the board and put up two new directors.
Ariadne purchased a stake of just under 10 per cent in Ardent at the time and Mr Weiss later became executive chairman, with the chief executive at the time, Simon Kelly, deciding to depart the company.
It is understood that ARA, which has about $US80bn ($114bn) under management in 23 countries, takes issue with aspects of Cromwell’s corporate governance, a view vigorously rejected by the property group.
Earlier this year, Cromwell tried to buy London-listed real estate investment trust RDI in what was believed to be a cash and scrip offer that would have diluted ARA’s share in the business, but it did not proceed.
Earlier, ARA local boss David Blight stepped off Cromwell’s board after its stake was diluted as a result of Cromwell’s equity raising, which was via a placement.
Cromwell controls an Australian direct property portfolio worth $2.5bn and has real estate under management across Australia, New Zealand and Europe worth $11.5bn.
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