CBD
TV viewers have been enduring shameless stadium rockers Status Quo butchering their classic hits Down, Down and Whatever You Want in Coles ads created by marketing mastermind Ted Horton.
Unveiling Coles owner Wesfarmers' full-year profit result on Thursday, chief executive Richard Goyder (pictured) was asked what the Perth-based conglomerate would do once it ran out of Quo tunes.
"My daughter bought me the Status Quo CD, which is for sale in Coles for $5 apparently," Goyder said. "I can listen to all the songs in the car. There's quite a few we haven't used so there might be some way to go."
Quo singer Francis Rossi might well be willing to participate again, as he revealed in June that he was down, down $2.5 million on cocaine that went up, up, his nose - to the point where part of it fell off.
ASIC backs off
And no joy either for small investors in listed cashbox Lemarne Corporation who were hoping the corporate watchdog would take action against Melbourne's Silman family.
Shareholders were cranky after the Takeovers Panel found that Ariel Silman and dad Maurice acted in concert to accumulate a stake of more than 20 per cent in the company - well past the point where they should have mounted a takeover bid.
But after two months of "careful consideration" the Australian Securities and Investments Commission last month wrote to one Lemarne investor to say it would "not take any further action into the issues you have raised at this time".
Meanwhile, one of the directors associated with the Silmans, Amos Meltzer, resigned on Wednesday and the company has called in corporate gadfly Darren Olney-Fraser, of Mariner Corporation fame, to act as "independent chairman of the board".
"My role, as an independent chairman, is an important one for corporate governance within Lemarne," Olney-Fraser said in a letter to top 20 shareholders, seen by CBD. He promised to act in the best interests of all shareholders. The board's big decision is what to do with $2.5 million in cash - it can either back a new business into Lemarne or return the cash to shareholders and sell the shell.
Not so Jolly Roger
They're also coming a cropper on the director merry-go-round over at oil junior Buccaneer Energy, where half the board has resigned after just a month and a half.
The trio, Nicholas Davies, Clinton Adams and Shaun Scott, were nominated by two Singaporean investors who held 5.5 per cent of Buccaneer - a move management insisted was an attempt to gain control of the company. Buccaneer now has three directors, the minimum allowed, while it waits for 19.9 per cent investor Meridian Capital to decide who it wants on the board.
Tosca's the tonic
With her husband on the election hustings, Margie Abbott took two of her daughters to the opera on Wednesday night. Nothing like Puccini's Italian love tragedy, Tosca, to stir the emotions. But would Tony be Cavaradossi, the ill-fated painter who is Floria Tosca's lover and cops all the torture to keep his friend safe, or the nasty chief of police, who double-crosses them all?
Libs sell a fistful
Still on matters political, and CBD notes that the Victorian Liberal Party has stopped selling a campaign T-shirt emblazoned with a raised fist logo somewhat reminiscent of the one used by the Black Panthers and various smelly anti-capitalist Occupy groups.
The shirt is sold out, according to the party's website. Perhaps sales were helped by the free publicity Fairfax Media and others gave the quixotic design on Wednesday and Thursday?
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Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
Coles’ long-running “down down” campaign uses reworked Status Quo songs such as “Down, Down” and “Whatever You Want.” Coles is owned by Perth-based conglomerate Wesfarmers, whose CEO Richard Goyder was asked about the campaign while unveiling the group’s full‑year profit result.
Richard Goyder joked that his daughter bought him a Status Quo CD — which is apparently sold in Coles for $5 — and that there are still quite a few songs the company hasn’t used in the ads, implying the campaign could continue to evolve.
The Takeovers Panel found that Ariel Silman and his father Maurice acted in concert to accumulate more than a 20% stake in Lemarne Corporation, which meant they should have mounted a takeover bid once that threshold was breached.
After about two months of what it described as “careful consideration,” the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) wrote to a Lemarne investor saying it would not take any further action into the issues raised at this time.
A director associated with the Silmans, Amos Meltzer, resigned and Lemarne appointed Darren Olney‑Fraser as ‘independent chairman of the board.’ The board’s main decision is whether to back a new business into Lemarne or return the $2.5 million to shareholders and sell the shell.
Half the board of oil junior Buccaneer Energy resigned after about a month and a half. Three directors nominated by two Singaporean investors who held 5.5% of the company were involved in the turmoil; Buccaneer now operates with the minimum three directors while it waits for 19.9% investor Meridian Capital to decide who it wants on the board. Such rapid board changes can affect governance and strategic direction.
Darren Olney‑Fraser, described in the article as a corporate gadfly known from Mariner Corporation, wrote to the top 20 shareholders saying his role as independent chairman is important for corporate governance at Lemarne and he promised to act in the best interests of all shareholders.
The Takeovers Panel can find concerted action and highlight takeover rule breaches (as it did with the Silmans and Lemarne). ASIC may choose not to pursue further enforcement, as it did after reviewing the matter. In this case, shareholders have seen board changes and the appointment of an independent chairman as the company decides how to use its $2.5 million cash balance.
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