Senior management changes at three leading companies yesterday including The Reject Shop (TRS), Telstra (TLS) and Leighton Holdings (LEI) where the Spanish coup is all but a done deal.
The changes at Leighton came four days after the major shareholder, Hotchtief of Germany (itself controlled by ACS of Spain), lobbed a partial bid worth $1.05 billion for Leighton, designed to take its stake to just under 74%.
Yesterday that bid was lifted to a new figure of $1.2 billion and Leighton CEO Hamish Tyrwhitt and chief financial officer Peter Gregg announced their immediate departures.
Hochtief chief executive Marcelino Fernandez Verdez (also a former senior executive with ACS) will replace Mr Tyrwhitt.
Mr Tyrwhitt and Mr Gregg will receive a severance package, Leighton said. "Aspects of the severance packages will require shareholder approval, which is intended to be sought at the forthcoming AGM," the company said. "Hochtief has undertaken to support the resolutions required to give effect to these severance packages."
In other words Hochtief and ACS will make sure shareholders approve any deal to allow the two executives to leave with golden goodbyes.
The value of Mr Tyrwhitt’s severance package is $10.2 million, while Mr Gregg will receive $8.2 million.
Leighton’s board has appointed Hochtief-nominated Pedro Lopez Jimenez and Jose Luis del Valle Perez, who also represent ACS.
Hochtief has now said it will pay $22.50 a Leighton share (including the 60c a share final dividend), up from $22.15 on Monday.
Following unusual trading in Leighton shares last Thursday and Friday when the shares jumped 14% for no reason, the Australian Securities and Exchange Commission (ASIC) said it will investigate possible insider trading.
The jump in the share price caused a “please explain” inquiry from the Australian Securities Exchange, but Leighton couldn’t provide an answer last Friday afternoon. The German shareholder did on Monday and some buyers could have grabbed $30 million or more in quick profits for their purchases on Thursday and Friday.
Leighton shares fell 1% to $21.90, well under the new bid price, meaning the market battle some speculators saw on Monday and Tuesday (when the bid the shares rose past $23) is over before it even started.
