Ojjeh added to her stake in Cordiant yesterday by buying more shares raising her holding from 10.1% to 10.95%. Publicis Groupe has denied any connection with the chess promoter and it is not known if she has contact with Active Value.
Active Value notified Cordiant yesterday that Richard Wheatly, the former Jazz FM and Leo Burnett chief, and Stephen Davidson, a former West LB executive, did not intend to stand for election as Cordiant directors at the extraordinary general meeting due to take place on July 23.
The fund manager had proposed the two as chairman and finance director -- as well as an unnamed ad agency boss, who has also withdrawn as CEO -- to replace Cordiant chief executive David Hearn and his management team and keep the troubled ad group independent.
The move was always opposed by the Cordiant board, which had given its support to WPP's 拢266m bid for the company. Despite Wheatly and Davidson withdrawing, Active Value's remaining resolutions still stand and are still capable of being proposed and voted at the meeting, but Cordiant has said they are not viable and asked shareholders to reject them.
"The withdrawal of the management team recommended by Active Value confirms the view of the Cordiant board that none of the resolutions proposed by Active Value represent a viable alternative to the existing strategy that has been recommended by the board to shareholders, namely the proposed acquisition of Cordiant by WPP.
"Accordingly, the Cordiant board continues to recommend shareholders to vote against all of the surviving Active Value requisitioned resolutions, and in favour of the WPP offer," it said in a statement.
Active Value still has a 28.75% stake in Cordiant and the Syrian billionaire Nahed Ojjeh has a 10.1% holding. Active Value only needed 25% to oppose the WPP bid.
In a statement issued last night, Active Value confirmed it had been exploring a number of options for Cordiant designed to recover shareholder value.
"Active Value confirms that it has been exploring in detail a number of options with its financial and legal advisers with a view to recovering the substantial loss of value faced by shareholders if WPP鈥檚 proposed recommended acquisition of Cordiant by way of scheme of arrangement is approved.
Active Value continues to believe that shareholders are being deprived of significant value by the terms of WPP鈥檚 scheme even at current valuations and it therefore continues to look at ways in which the position can be improved for all shareholders," it said in a statement.
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