Ryan Stokes appointed chairman of Boral after Seven Group closes takeover.
Seven Group Holdings has taken a firm grip on Boral’s board after the close of its takeover offer.
Seven Group Holdings has taken a firm grip on Boral’s board after the close of its takeover offer for the company, with Ryan Stokes replacing Kathryn Fagg as the Boral chair.
Seven Group holds almost 70 per cent of Boral’s shares after Thursday’s close of its takeover offer, and Mr Stokes will be joined on the Boral board by Seven Group chief financial officer Richard Richards.
Peter Alexander and Deborah O’Toole will retire from the Boral board after its October annual shareholder meeting.
The Boral board still has a majority of independent directors despite Friday’s changes, and Mr Stokes said Seven Group will also appoint a lead independent director to the Boral board to head a committee of independent directors not aligned with Boral’s new majority shareholder.
Chief executive Zlatko Todorcevski retains his role as the Boral boss as the company continues its restructuring program.
Mr Stokes said in a statement the outlook remained bright for the company’s business.
“We are very focused on encouraging management to deliver the financial targets within its transformation program. We believe that Boral is well positioned to take advantage of continued infrastructure and construction activity, particularly on Australia’s east coast,” he said.
The board moves close out a fractious bid for control of Boral by Seven Group, which began building its stake in the construction materials giant last year, creeping up the register amid an attempt by the company to reset its strategy after an ill-fated expansion into the US under the leadership of former chief executive Mike Kane.
Seven Group moved from a 23 per cent holding in Boral before it launched its takeover attempt – initially pitched at $6.50 a share but eventually topped up to $7.40 – to controlling 69.6 per cent of its stock, after other major shareholders sold into the offer.
Boral shares were down 7c to $7.27 at 1130 AEST.