Bill Wavish loses Endeavour election bid as sparks fly at AGM

Bill Wavish has lost his Endeavour board election bid as sparks fly at AGM, with former Woolworths boss Roger Corbett hitting out at the drinks and pub group’s chairman.

Billionaire pubs baron Bruce Mathieson has vowed to continue his war against the Endeavour board and chairman Peter Hearl, after his candidate Bill Wavish failed to be elected as a director at a gruelling and at times rowdy three-hour shareholder meeting.

It promises to prolong the bitter and very public boardroom brawl that has engulfed Endeavour – owner of Dan Murphy’s, BWS, 354 pubs and more than 12,500 gaming machines – over the past month and could still be fought into Christmas.

Mr Mathieson might have lost the battle on the election of Mr Wavish to the board at Tuesday’s AGM, but he is now considering other corporate action including calling an extraordinary general meeting. “While Bill will fall short, the chairman will be highly uncomfortable with how much transaction he gained,” Mr Mathieson said after the AGM.

“Every vote for Bill Wavish is a message to the board that they are failing and change is required. My campaign won’t stop until the chair is gone. He can go the easy way, or we can show him the door at an EGM.

“While he thinks he’s saved face today, I encourage the chairman to listen to his investors, and leave the company. That is the only way we can move forward.”

Sending out his own stinging statement after the meeting, Mr Hearl said the shareholder vote represented a “comprehensive repudiation of the campaign to elect former Dick Smith director William Wavish to the Endeavour Group board” – with the reference to the failed Dick Smith retail business a cheeky dig at Mr Wavish’s claim of proven retail experience.

The AGM was surrounded by fireworks as Mr Hearl on stage was locked in a heated argument with former Woolworths boss Roger Corbett, seated with other shareholders, as they threw several allegations at each other in front of other investors.

Mr Corbett, who ran Woolworths between 1999 and 2006, accused Mr Hearl of making “demeaning” and “deeply insulting” comments about Mr Mathieson’s agenda in backing Mr Wavish’s candidacy. He also called for Mr Hearl to resign.

Mr Hearl politely declined to follow Mr Corbett’s resignation instructions, and hit back by remarking to shareholders that Mr Corbett had “close family ties” with Mr Mathieson. He did not further explain what he meant by that comment. That caused an immediate outburst from Mr Corbett, who took exception with that inference and yelled back that, to be sure, he was friends with Mr Mathiesin, but he was completely independent.

“That’s an insult!” Mr Corbett yelled back.

The intrigue continued when later it came time for the re-election of Bruce Mathieson Jr to the board. When he was asked if he publicly supported the chairman and Endeavour chief executive Steve Donohue, Mr Mathieson Jr said he believed his thoughts on the pair were “best left behind closed doors”.

Ultimately, Mr Wavish only received about 27.8 per cent of votes in favour of his election after a month of a bitter boardroom stoush that was played out in public.

Of the 1.2 billion votes lodged, there were 333.9 million votes in favour of his election but 705.08 million votes against.

Rebel Endeavour shareholder and billionaire Bruce Mathieson Senior. Picture: Russell Shakespeare

All the nation’s leading proxy advisory firms recommended clients vote against the election of Mr Wavish. Woolworths, the third-largest shareholder, also voted against his election.

In a passionate plea for shareholders to support Mr Wavish, Mr Corbett hit out at what he described as the poor performance of the company to date and its crashing share price, which has fallen about 40 per cent from its peak and wiped $6bn in shareholder value.

He accused Mr Hearl of demeaning Mr Mathieson Sr, who owns 15 per cent of the company, and that he wrongly accused the billionaire of trying to grab disproportionate control of the Endeavour board by backing Mr Wavish’s election run.

Mr Corbett then turned on Mr Hearl. “You need to go forthwith. I call for your immediate resignation,” he said.

Mr Corbett said if Mr Hearl only thought that Endeavour’s problems were minor, then “you indeed become the problem”.

“The retail business has completely lost its way, and that it has,” Mr Corbett said, referring to Endeavour’s bottle shops Dan Murphy’s and BWS. “I speak with a retailer with a little experience”, said Mr Corbett, the former boss of Woolworths.

After the AGM, Mr Hearl thanked shareholders for their support of the board’s robust approach to governance and hit out at the behaviour of his largest shareholder.

“We respect the rights of shareholders to express their views in a professional way. However, the campaign by the Bruce Mathieson Group (BMG) was characterised by selective information, and was unquestionably value-destructive for Endeavour shareholders,” he said.

“It is profoundly disappointing that the actions of one large shareholder have damaged so many other shareholders.

“We recognise there are key areas for improvement. This is best achieved under the stewardship of a collaborative and united board working in the best interests of all shareholders.”

Endeavour shares rose 3c to $4.94 on Tuesday.