National Express agrees year-long truce with hedge fund
National Express has agreed a 12-month truce with the US hedge fund Elliott Advisors, which was agitating for a boardroom shake up, and will appoint Elliott-backed candidate Chris Muntwyler as a non-executive director.
By Alistair Osborne, Business Editor 8:51AM BST 10 May 2011
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The transport group's board is due to ratify the appointment of Mr Muntwyler, the former head of DHL UK, at a meeting prior to the company's 11am AGM in London.
National Express Group
Mr Muntwyler was one of three non-executive director candidates put forward by the American hedge fund. In return, Elliott has agreed to withdraw its three AGM resolutions and undertaken not to agitate publicly for change for a year.
While the deal was being hammered out last night, Elliott asked to cut that to seven months if National Express shares underperform similar transport companies.
National Express is still looking for another two new non-execs, one with experience of the transport market in North America and the other in continental Europe.
The deal amounts to a face-saving outcome for Elliott, which was heading for its second AGM defeat in six days – after its reversal at Swiss biotech group Actelion.
The hedge fund welcomed Mr Muntwyler's appointment today:
"Mr. Muntwyler has over thirty years of experience in the transport and logistics industries, including experience across international markets that we believe is critically important for the next phase of the Company's development," Elliott said.
Dean Finch, National Express chief executive, said: "The company has offered them a road out and why shouldn't we? They are a major shareholder. We have got to listen to what they say. I like challenging questions. I just don't want to do it in the public eye."
The AGM may still have fireworks, with Gina Beck, a member of the US Teamsters union, due to complain about her treatment by National Express's Durham yellow school bus subsidiary.
Having taken a job as a driver, she claims promises about pay and benefits fell short, while her working hours were cut. The consequence, the union said, is that she now "lives in a partitioned section of a room in a back office, living off food stamps and unable to pay for healthcare".
Mr Finch said: "If Teamsters have evidence we are in any way abusing or manipulating our employees we will treat that with the utmost seriousness." But he would not bow to its "lobbying" for a "collective bargaining agreement".
yellow school bus, logistics industries, teamsters union, biotech group, national express, director candidates, transport market, challenging questions, continental europe, s board, dhl, transport companies, agm, international markets, business editor, alistair, public eye, boardroom, seven months, execs
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