6th Mar 2014 13:46
LONDON (Alliance News) - Crystal Amber Fund Ltd Thursday said it plans an extraordinary general meeting of Leaf Clean Energy Co to change its board and investment strategy.
The investment fund said it has asked Leaf to to be placed in an orderly run-off mode, and that its Chief Executive Bran Keogh should stand down following a three-month handover period.
The investment fund has a 10% shareholding in Leaf and said that it had attempted to talk constructively with the board of Leaf in an attempt to improve shareholder value.
Crystal Amber said Leaf has not adequately addressed the underlying values of its investments, its annual running costs, and falls in its share price, which at the close of trading on Wednesday traded at a 47% discount on its last reported net asset value of 93.90 pence on June 30 2013.
Leaf Clean Energy shares were up 0.4% to 49.20 pence Thursday. Crystal Amber shares were up 0.7% to 156.00 pence.
Crystal Amber told Leaf at the end of 2013 that it has concerns over Leaf's use of discounted future cash flow forecasts to value businesses that are not currently cash generative, and it said it is baffled by the scale of running costs at Leaf, given all but three of Leaf's investments are passive.
In response, Leaf said in January that it is attempting to deal with the current discount to its NAV and it continues to be focused on cost reduction.
Crystal Amber asked in January for Chief Executive Keogh to be removed in response and suggested Mark Lerdal as a replacement, stating that he has an enviable track record in the renewable energy and sustainable technology space.
In response to this, Leaf said on February 13 that "we continue as a board to keep both strategy and execution under close review and remain focussed on the delivery of both."
Leaf Clean said Thursday: "The board of Leaf notes the announcement by Crystal Amber Fund Limited and will be consulting with shareholders in the coming days. The board will make a further announcement in due course."
By Tom McIvor; [email protected]; @TomMcIvor1
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