5 questions lodged at 2025 Metro Performance Glass hybrid EGM

Q1. The documents for today's meeting repeatedly say that Sydney-based private equity firm Crescent Capital owns our competitor Viridian and have been pitching alternative proposals to buy us, that the board believes may have run into competition concerns, if pursued. Why didn't you also explain that it was Crescent which originally floated our business for more than $NZ250 million in 2014? What is the history of how Crescent went from owning us, to owning our biggest competitor and to then wanting to buy us back?

Answer: The CEO gave Crescent a spray. Watch video of exchange via Twitter, plus these earlier more positive comments by chair Shawn Beck.

Q2. Why are you being so cagey about who owns Amari, seeing as they are about to control our business? Who are the main people at Amari that we have been dealing with and who are they likely to appoint to the board? Is Amari and its Atlas Steel business still at all connected to ASX listed Bisalloy Steel or Quadrant Private Equity? If you're asking us minority shareholders to put their trust in Amari as controlling shareholder, why haven't you put a single name of a human to the Amari or Atlas corporate brands?

Answer: The chair explained that they are a private company and the CEO mentioned Amari owner Stephen Robertson, who will be joining the board. He was mentioned in this earlier ASX announcement. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.

Q3. When we were canvassing the so-called Cowes Bay Group family office proposal, why didn't we explain that we were dealing with Australian Rich Lister Kim McKendrick, who sold his enormous Godfrey Hirst carpets business, the owner of Feltex Carpets in NZ, for $600 million in 2017? The AFR valued his wealth at $794 million earlier this year, so why weren't we even able to get $10 million out of him rather than pursue this proposal with the mysterious Amari outfit? Why did Kim McKendrick walk away?

Answer: The chair observed that private investors often want to stay private but then explained that the Cowes Bay deal didn't stack up. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.

Q4. Shareholders have contributed more than $NZ300m to our company yet here we are staggering along with a market cap of less than $10m & embarking on an emergency recapitalisation. I'm a new Australian shareholder, but seeing as I have a sister also called Julia Mayne, could our longest serving director Julia Mayne please comment on whether she believes there are any decisions which could have been taken during her 4 years on the board that would have avoided this value destroying recapitalisation proposal being pursued?

Answer: Julia said it was a good question and she provided a brief response summarising a difficult situation.

Q5. Thank you for disclosing the proxy position early to the ASX which suggests the deal will get through based on votes cast by the big shareholders. Could you please advise how many of your thousands of shareholders voted by proxy? Was the retail turnout today even 10% and what sort of proxy solicitation campaign did you run to get out the vote?

Answer: We eventually got an answer (244 out of 2,465 shareholders) via a very long and winding road. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.

Copyright © 2025 The Mayne Report. All rights reserved

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