Infant formula maker Bellamy’s Australia said today (1 March) Rodd Peters has been appointed as chairman, after the troubled company lost its previous two chairmen within hours of each other amidst a boardroom tussle.
Peters, who was elected to the board yesterday, succeeds interim chairman Michael Wadley, who was removed from the board in a purge led by the company’s largest single shareholder, The Black Prince Private Foundation.
Wadley had held the office for a matter of hours following the resignation of Rob Woolley – who had publicly opposed Black Prince’s move for boardroom changes.
Bellamy’s has said it will “announce the appointment of additional directors in due course”.
Meanwhile, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has confirmed a halt in the trading of Bellamy’s shares continues at the company’s request. “Unless ASX decides otherwise, the securities will remain in trading halt session state until the earlier of the commencement of normal trading on Wednesday 1 March 2017 or when the announcement is released to the market,” the ASX said.
Bellamy’s is facing a class action lawsuit filed by disgruntled shareholders, action that emerged hours before the group reported a near-50% drop in operating profit for the first six months of its financial year last month.
