Boohoo has published an open letter (another one) as it prepares for battle with Frasers Group.
Frasers, its largest shareholder, has called a General Meeting later this month as it seeks to unseat Boohoo founder, Mahmud Kamani.
So far it’s been a bruising points victory for the Manchester ecommerce group. Its shareholders voted against a proposal that Mike Ashley be appointed as a director just before Christmas.
To try and keep ahead, Boohoo published a letter to shareholders this morning, to reiterate its recommendations that shareholders should vote against the proposal to remove Kamani from the board as a director.
“Frasers’ demands, including its current attempt to remove Mr Kamani as a director of the Company, form part of an ongoing campaign by Frasers which appears designed to destabilise boohoo and disrupt the Board’s plans to unlock and maximise Shareholder value through the Business Review that it announced in October.
“The Board is of the view that in pursuing this campaign, Frasers is acting solely in its own commercial self-interest. In its previous communications with Shareholders the Board has also highlighted a number of instances in which Frasers has behaved in similar ways in relation to other companies.”
It continued:
“Mr Kamani is an integral part of the leadership team. His counsel, guidance and insight to Dan Finley, Group Chief Executive Officer, the rest of the Board, and the wider business remains invaluable. The question for Shareholders to consider ahead of voting at the General Meeting is not therefore whether Mr Kamani should remain as the Company’s Chair, but whether he should remain as a director having already stepped down as Chair.
“The Independent Committee is unanimous in its view that Mr Kamani should remain as a director of the Company given his critical role in the business. As a co-founder, Mr Kamani built the Company from the ground up, transforming it to a global leader in online fashion. His entrepreneurial spirit, industry expertise and unwavering commitment to boohoo has been and remains, a key asset for the business. In addition, as previously announced, Mahmud Kamani has agreed to waive his current salary from boohoo for the next 12 months.”
The General Meeting is set to take place on 21st January.
