THE ACTIVIST investor seeking to seize control of the publisher of The Scotsman alongside former First Minister Alex Salmond has made its first official move by demanding a general meeting to vote on the replacement of two directors.
Custos Group, which owns 20 per cent of the company’s shares, is planning to have Mr Salmond as well as former Evening Standard boss Steve Aukland installed on Johnston Press’s board.
They would replace interim chairman Camilla Rhodes, who is a former News International executive, and audit committee chair Michael Butterworth.
Custos, which is run by Norwegian billionaire Christen Ager-Hanssen and has built its holding in Johnston Press from a standing start in June, has been preparing to make a move on the company for a number of weeks.
Last month Mr Ager-Hanssen confirmed that he was seeking to oust Johnston Press chief executive Ashley Highfield and chief financial officer David King as well as Ms Rhodes and Mr Butterworth due to his belief that “the company is totally mismanaged”.
That move was thwarted due to a clause in Johnston Press’s bondholder agreement that means only the existing board can approve a new director.
Last week Mr Salmond confirmed that he was joining forces with Mr Ager-Hanssen in a “quest to revive the ailing company under fresh strategic direction”.
Johnston Press has agreed to Custos’s request to hold a general meeting and said in a note to the London Stock Exchange that its board “is consulting with its advisers and will update its shareholders with regard to the timing of the general meeting in due course”.
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