Storm clouds gather in Blue Sky stoush between Elaine Stead and Joe Aston
Regardless of what side you’re on in the defamation case brought by Blue Sky’s Elaine Stead against Fairfax Media, now Nine Entertainment, and its reporter Joe Aston, one thing is for sure: there’ll be plenty of dirty laundry laid bare from either side as the hearings kick off on Tuesday.
The case brought by the Adelaide-based director of the now-defunct Blue Sky failed to be resolved at mediation in April, since which time both parties haven’t been shy in serving subpoenas to everyone and anyone within as much of a sneeze of Stead or her investments.
That includes a lengthy list of the venture capital arm’s former investments — the Jodie Fox-led Shoes of Prey, health food chain Thrive and wine upstart Vinomofo, for which Blue Sky raised $25m back in 2016, helping brother-in-law founders Andre Eikmeier and Justin Dry net a pretty penny.
After the very public collapse of Blue Sky, Stead’s only listed directorships are at university-backed tech hub Cicada Innovations and Human Venture Capital.
Court documents also reveal an affidavit from former KordaMentha partner Jarrod Villani among the reams of evidence.
Villani, alongside Mark Korda, had been receiver for Blue Sky at its collapse in 2019, before a career change of sorts just four weeks ago — he is now co-head of Australian operations for Ten Network owner ViacomCBS with Beverley McGarvey.
Mark Wilks’ Corrs Chambers Westgarth, acting for Stead, has also served subpoenas to several notable short-sellers in a bid to unearth ties to Aston, including Bronte Capital’s John Hempton and Totus Capital’s Ben McGarry.
Fellow shorter Rob Luciano, his firm VGI Partners and former director Doug Tynan, however, will not be among those making an appearance.
Last month presiding judge Justice Michael Lee made orders that the subpoena be set aside following a formal objection from VGI.
The fund is no stranger to a little legal stoush but who comes out on top in this case is anyone’s guess.
Daring move
What motivates a move to the public sector? Is it the desire for the national good perhaps? An opportunity to put the country on the world stage?
In Kathmandu boss Xavier Simonet’s case, we’d hazard a guess it comes down to dollars and cents.
The ex-LVMH executive made the shock announcement on Monday that he was packing up his puffer jacket at the adventurewear retailer to head Simon Birmingham’s Austrade, filling the hole left by former boss Stephanie Fahey after her exit in July.
Simonet has a six-month notice period to serve, however, pending any early release by the David Kirk-led board, which will likely see acting chief Tim Beresford clock almost 12 months in the top job at Austrade, a point that was raised before Senate estimates last month.
MP Stuart Ayres probed Birmo on the delay to fill the role, as well as the process of recruitment at the department, including the tapping of Fiona McGauchie (the daughter of well-known Liberal Party backer Donald McGauchie) at Egon Zehnder, and the $162,800 paid to the firm to fill its deputy CEO role.
But after COVID-19 wiped out the prospect of bonuses at the retail group, is it any wonder the Kathmandu chief is jumping ship?
According to Kathmandu’s most recent annual report, Simonet took home just over $900,000 last financial year, with short-term incentives erased after virus restrictions crimped the group’s sales and dragged on overall profit.
Compare that to the $975,886 that Fahey took home for the year, even with no bonuses dished out across the organisation, albeit inclusive of $355,000 in termination benefits.
Still, Simonet has built a holding of more than 1.3 million shares in the group as at June 30, with a further $488,420 in performance rights to vest on Tuesday.
His stake pales in comparison to that of Rod Duke’s Briscoe Group, the fourth-largest holder behind Yarra Funds and Harbour Asset Management.
Meanwhile director Philip Bowman, also chairman of the property fund of the billionaire Emrati businessman Majid al Futtaim, has seized the opportunity to bolster his holdings in the group.
Last week he scooped up a further 100,000 shares in the retailer on-market at an average price of $1.33, taking his total stake to roughly 30,000 shares.
Bolton on board
Finally a win for the infamous corporate raider Nicholas Bolton, and a sweet one at that.
After three attempts to join the board of confectionary maker Yowie, the Keybridge Capital exec finally had a win on Monday, but we would hardly call it resounding.
With director Neville Bassett coming up against a strong protest vote of 54.2 per cent, the vote on his re-election was withdrawn and he resigned from his posting, while dissenters also pushed out director Tudor Marsden-Huggins despite having only served a month and a half in the role.
Bolton meanwhile scraped into the board with a 53.9 per cent vote in his favour, along with his fellow Keybridge pal John Patton.
That’s even after the board recommended shareholders vote against both incoming directors.
Keybridge, along with its Aurora Funds, is the largest stakeholder in Yowie with a 24 per cent stake after steadily gaining share over the past several years.
With now two of the three directors on its side, no doubt managing director Mark Schuessler will be standing poised for a showdown.
At its last update in October, the group said its sales in the first quarter were down 28 per cent compared to the same time last year, pointing the finger at reduced foot traffic in retail stores due to COVID-19.
Schuessler told shareholders Yowie was making progress with several potential strategic partners to better position the group to compete — whether he had Bolton and Patton in mind is anyone’s guess.
Epic battle
The battle for Village Roadshow is building to its final crescendo, and key dissenter Mittleman Investment Management is showing no signs of giving up.
Even after Ben Gray’s BGH lobbed its improved offer of up to $3 a pop last week, winning over substantial holder Spheria, Mittleman continues to build its stake. Late on Monday, the group filed an increase in its substantial holding from 14.3 per cent to 15.6 per cent.
While that alone will not be enough to stop either of the two offers before shareholders going through at the December 7 meeting, it sets the group up for a showdown worthy of Movie World’s Wild Wild West.
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