How much have we spent so far on takeover defence and did we conduct any form of limited tender before engaging our legal and financial advisers? Had any merger discussions been held with Netwealth before they unveiled their unsolicited offer or did it come completely out of the blue?
Social issues are often a big factor in securing agreed takeover deals, along with price. How important a consideration is securing seats on the Netwealth board for the Praemium leaders, bearing in mind Netwealth currently has a $4 billion market compared with approximately $750m for Praemium.
For the chair and CEO, are you expecting any friendly associates of Netwealth to be asking any questions at today's AGM and could our CEO Anthony Wamsteker please detail the full history of his relationship with Netwealth CEO Matt Heine. Have they worked together on any industry associations or had any past merger discussions?
Did any of the 5 main proxy advisers in the Australian market - ACSI, ASA, Ownership Matters, Glass Lewis and ISS - recommend a vote against any of today's resolutions, including the rem report. Has their been a material proxy protest vote against any of today's resolutions? Will you disclose the proxy votes before the debate on today's resolutions so shareholders can ask questions if there have been any protest votes?
Have we established an independent board committee to deal with Netwealth or any other offers. Could Stuart detail his experience in dealing with past public company takeover battles.
Claire has great experience with the US and Australian departments of defence, but could she outline her experience when it come to takeover defence. Lawyers and advisers often tell boards how much knowledge they have on corporate activity and dismiss the views of individual directors. Is Claire comfortable with how inclusive the lawyers and advisers are being so far with all of the directors.
As a full time executive of Ellerston, does Stuart have time to get into the cut and thrust of a lengthy takeover battle?
Copyright © 2022 The Mayne Report. All rights reserved