Me thinks thy name should be Prudence Liz... :-))
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Me thinks thy name should be Prudence Liz... :-))
On Masterpet: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/indu...directors-link
EBO has seldom had its 'governance' questioned and this has been one of the factors why it is a respected company
Shame that this may not now be the case. This may just be noise but it does plant that seed of doubt in people minds ... don't punters hate related party things.
Somethign that Ebos needs to manage very well
That Masterrpet has pretty attractive margins compared to EBO's EBITDA margins eh ... good
One unknown is that the purchase price is $105m plus Masterpet debt .... wonder how much debt they have been loaded up .... could be interesting ..... maybe one day that will be disclosed
Never any problems there.
No problems when Peter Merton [PHB,EBO customer ] was there.The board of EBO is very strong.As regards to Mark Stewart's Ziwi Peak I see it as positive that Stewart has that experience.
The person who really surprised me was Sarah Ottrey.She spoke at one AGM giving her backround in brand marketing.She was reponsible for BD's Henekein launch and DB's Tui branding. Very clever woman.
Peter Klaus has been there since buying into EBO before 1990,and has always supported the company.
Elizabeth Coutts is an extemly experience director.
Chairman Rick Christie ex Rangatira CEO and again a director with a wealth of experience.
Barry Wallace,who I don't know is also very experience director.
From Rick Christies' comment in the article:
"Mark declared his interests as he would normally do in respect of Masterpet right from day one and as far as the board were concerned that was a matter for him to deal with and it wasn't regarded as a conflict ... I've got really nothing more to say about that. It's a different sort of a business. He's in the raw pet food business. The pet food sold by Masterpet and its subsidiaries is substantially manufactured food to dried food ingredients."
With all due respect to Rick Christie, it seems to me that there is at least a potential conflict of interest if, as the article suggests, the firm that he has an interest in, sells its raw pet food product to Masterpet. In those circumstances the approporiate action would be to not only declare the interest but also to abstain from taking part in making the decision.
Percy - not casting any aspersions on the Board - just saying they have had a pretty good 'governance' record up to now and need to be totally transparent with the market now this has come out.
Irrespefctive of the calming words from the company punters tend to make their own judgement eh
I note Rick Christie said Mark declared his interests as he would do in respect of masterpet right from day one.
I would then expect Mark Stewart would have told the board of his experiences in the pet food business.Stewart is one very clever man so I would expect the board would have been enlightened by his words of wisdom.!!!!!
Hopefully this was a misquote ""He's obviously a major shareholder but this was a board decision and it did have to go to shareholders. So Mark was just another director, really."
Surely he means it did NOT have to go to shareholders?? So Mark just gave his view as a director.
Unfortunately it happens all the time that major shareholders are canvased or given the heads up prior to a significant transaction, when in reality, it should be the board acting on behalf of their shareholders making the call, then taking it to a shareholders vote if required.
But strange for a chairman to blatantly publicly acknowldege that the major shareholders get a say in the decision yet there is no shareholder vote for minority shareholders to express their views?
[QUOTE=steve fleming;364572]
Surely he means it did NOT have to go to shareholders?? So Mark just gave his view as a director.
Agreed,after he told other members of the board he had an interest in Ziwi Peak ,who supply product to Animates.who in turn are half owned by Masrerpet.
I think it is very positive to have capable directors who have their own money invested in the business.In Mark Stewart's case he has always taken dividend reinvestment instead of cash dividends.There was a rumour when he brought in he would not sit on 10% for long and was expected to to want 20%. That has been unfounded ,however with divie reinvestment his stake has increased.
Also of interest is one of the owners/investors of Masterpet was "our old friend" Paul collins of Brierley Investments fame.
Of course it's a positive for directors to have a stake in companies in which they are their directors. That's not the issue here, rather it's one of a potential conflict of interests between those of the company that EBO was seeking to buy and one of its suppliers. Entirely hypothetical of course.Quote:
I think it is very positive to have capable directors who have their own money invested in the business.
Percy - not putting a halo around the chairman are you? .... maybe with rose tinted glasses?
Experienced director .... yes and no doubt about that. Probably pretty clever as well and no doubt the Queen will recognise him one day
But this does not always make the companies he is associated with successful or a great investment .....ask the ;ong suffering shareholders in THL or WFD
Maybe in Ebos's case it is the calibre of management rather than the Board ... interesting thought
No halo,I lost money on Advantage Corp.He would have had to use all of his experience when he recently had THREE major shareholders as directors.From Jamie Maddren days to present time EBO have always had a strong board.Even Philip Burdon rose to the chellange.!!
Calibre of management , Mark Waller's leadership,Experienced board,have driven the company.
There have been some very interesting postings since I put up the link re Masterpet yesterday! My tuppence worth:
Like others, I was surprised by Ebos’s recent acquisition, and despite wanting to top up my very small holding will now sit on the fence to see how the pet business folds into their human business.
Granted, the pet business is doing well in general atm, (Mark Waller said Masterpet was well positioned in one of the fastest growing global business sectors), but I have to wonder, given the current climate, how long that will last. I often drop in to our local Animates store with grandchildren, just to drool over puppies or kittens, and I notice a lot of shoppers (less over the last year) are buying pet trinkets, not staples. Even with the Animates club membership, I believe actual pet food can be bought more cheaply elsewhere, and for true pet lovers there is now an Auckland based vet with a website offering raw meat meals for pets, along similar lines to Ziwi, from what I can see. Possible competition down the track for Ziwi.
Having spoken with numerous people over the last two weeks and finding a great deal of them have spent far less this season than previously, it is obvious that spending is definitely tightening up, and this will likely affect what is spent on pets.
Nevertheless, Ebos has long been a very sound company, and as Macduffy noted back on 17.09.10: A nice, quiet achiever, this one. He also pointed out in that post: EBO up to $6.90 today.
So, today it sits at $6.55, not having shifted either way over the last few days, and I am wondering if other investors may well be doing what I am, fence sitting while this latest acquisition gets digested, and proven, or not.
Let’s hope that EBO continues to be that nice, quiet achiever.