The controversial Rudland family wants a shake-up of the Quantum Foods board of directors, igniting a potential shareholder dispute days after Country Bird Holdings (CBH) increased its stake in the JSE-listed stockfeeds and poultry business.
Quantum has hogged the limelight since Astral Foods disposed of its 9% stake in the company to CBH, which has bumped up its shareholding to above 15%.
As if the change in the shareholding structure of the company was not enough, new controversy is dogging Quantum Foods.
Amid speculation that CBH was gunning for a controlling interest in the company, Quantum yesterday dismissed this, saying it had received a notification against this action by CBH.
“Shareholders are hereby advised that, subsequent to the announcement, CBH addressed a letter to the board of directors of the company advising, inter alia, that it has no intention of making a takeover bid for Quantum Foods,” the company said yesterday.
On March 8, Quantum said it was not aware of Country Bird Holdings’s intentions regarding its recent acquisitions of the company’s securities.
Fresh controversy in the shareholding structure was ignited yesterday when Braemar Trading, a significant shareholder in Quantum, called for a shareholders meeting. Braemar wants the removal of the chairman of the board of Quantum.
“In terms of the demand, the specific purpose for which Braemar has demanded a meeting, is for the proposal of resolutions in respect of the removal of Wouter André Hanekom, chairman of the board of directors, Gary Vaughan-Smith and Larry Wilson Riddle as directors of the company and the election of Braemar’s nominee Mr Hamish Bryan Wilburn Rudland as a director,” Quantum Foods said.
It added that after seeking legal advice, it was “of the view that the demand” by Braemar “is not legally compliant” and that “in the circumstances the board will not be convening” a shareholders meeting.
Braemar is reportedly an investment of the controversial Rudland family that includes Hamish Rudland who previously gunned for the control of Tongaat Hulett.
There has been market speculation that Braemar could be working with CBH to take control of Quantum Foods. This was likely to spark off a shareholder fight for the control of the poultry business.
Market watchers, however, want regulatory authorities to look into share trades relating to Quantum in the past two weeks, to determine if there was unprocedural buy-outs.
“These developments have been interesting, depending on the relationship or lack of between Braemar and CBH we might be in for a long shareholder fight. It will be an interesting stock to watch in the next few weeks,” said one market watcher.
Market traders told Business Report they had observed trade in Quantum Foods at above average daily trade volumes in the days ahead of the Astral Foods announcement of its shareholding disposal to CBH.
They said they had observed 100 000 and 75 000 share blocks in Quantum Foods going through the market, further adding to the controversy surrounding the share movements in the company.
Quantum’s shares plunged 14.74% in afternoon trade on the JSE yesterday to R8.10, with analysts saying there is nothing to support a rally in the company’s shares anymore.
This sharply contrasts to the 104.4% surge in the company’s share price between the closing price on March 1, 2024 and the closing price on March 7, 2024 around the time of the Astral Foods transaction in the shares of Quantum Foods. The share price closed the day 5.26% lower at R9.
“It’s a shuffling of a deck of cards. You still have two opposing shareholder blocks. Both parties have been trying to contact the remaining individual shareholders to get to secure 50.1% controlling stake at any price,” Anthony Clark, independent analyst at Smalltalkdaily Research, told Business Report recently.
BUSINESS REPORT