11th Jun 2020 10:52
(Alliance News) - Amigo Holdings PLC confirmed Thursday Chair Stephan Wilcke will be leaving the day after the subprime lender's general meeting on June 17.
Current Senior Independent Director Roger Lovering will take over as acting chair until a permanent replacement can be found.
Amigo noted Wilcke will continue as a consultant to the company for six months.
In a statement Monday, Wilcke said: "I have chosen to resign now to make it crystal clear to everyone that the assertions made by Richmond Group about the motivations of myself and the board as clinging to our seats for our own ends are completely false."
Richmond Group is the investment vehicle of Founder James Benamor and had called for a shareholder meeting on June 17 to remove the entire board. He had hit out at Amigo on social media in March, saying the company is "committing slow motion suicide".
Also, Amigo said outgoing Chief Executive Hamish Paton will step down on July 31 - following the company's annual general meeting. Paton agreed to step down in late 2019 following the return to the board of Benamor.
"Amigo is aware of its obligations under the UK Corporate Governance Code to maintain a balance of directors to serve on the Board and its Committees. Amigo continues to look for suitable replacements for each of these roles," the lender added.
Benamor up until March sat on Amigo's board. His recently-ended stint on Amigo's board began last December, after he first left in September 2018.
Amigo and Benamor settled their dispute last week, with Benamor deciding to sell his entire 61% stake in the company.
On Monday, Amigo said it has terminated its sales process as a potential acquirer with whom the company had been in discussions has withdrawn.
Amigo said it has no other acquisition offers and therefore is terminating its formal sale process with immediate effect. The lender had been in talks with an unnamed buyer over a potential 20.9p each offer for Amigo, valuing the entire company at roughly GBP100 million, compared to its current market capitalisation of GBP61.5 million.
In May, Benamor had said he would block the sale of the company.
By Paul McGowan; [email protected]
Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Amigo