easyJet founder alleges that the board misled shareholders, did not obtain shareholder consent to a transaction and failed to issue a profit warning as soon as possible
Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder of and substantial shareholder in easyJet plc, in a letter dated 11 July 2011 accuses the easyJet board of:
- failing to obtain shareholder consent to a transaction that (he argues) met the Class 1 threshold tests set out in Chapter 10 of the UK Listing Authority Listing Rules;
- misleading shareholders about the size of that transaction; and
- failing to issue a profit warning as soon as it was aware of the underlying price-sensitive information.
Sir Stelios’s letter can be read here. It sets out in detail his highly critical analysis of easyJet’s public statements around a large aircraft order announced on 4 January 2011 and a profit warning on 20 January 2011.
The letter is a rare example of a substantial shareholder publicly making a series of detailed accusations against a board of a listed company in connection with the company’s compliance, or otherwise, with the Listing Rules and the Disclosure Rules and Transparency Rules.
easyJet’s holding response can be read here.
UPDATE 30 January 2012: Founder and major shareholder of listed company invites board to resign
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