Tough shoes to fill at AACo

Corporate lawyer and takeover specialist Brett Heading will find himself in an interesting position when he takes up his newly appointed role as independent director with cattle giant Australian Agricultural Co.

The chairman of partners and head of corporate advisory at Brisbane-based McCullough Robertson has agreed to fill one of the roles created after the resignation of two directors following the sacking of former chairman Nick Burton-Taylor last month by the aggrieved major shareholder Futuris Corp.

Earlier this year Futuris tried to sell its 43 per cent stake in AACo, but was upset by the cattle producer's apparent reluctance to open its books to potential bidders. AACo favoured a placement to institutions, but Futuris wanted top dollar from a takeover situation.

After the board spill, the AACo board is now headed by chairman Charles Bright, the former Potter Warburg and HSBC investment banking chief who also sits on the Futuris board and on a Futuris offshoot, Integrated Tree Cropping Limited.

The other directors are Futuris CEO Les Wozniczka, who also sits on the ITC board, and former Australian Conservation Foundation chief Philip Toyne, who sits on both the AACo and ITC boards as an independent.

Futuris says it has no current plans to seek a buyer for its stake, but some in the market suspects otherwise. That will leave Heading and Toyne to decide the appropriate action for the other shareholders.

Heading also sits on the Takeovers Panel. His other directorships include the family owned Clovely Wines, which he chairs, as well as a family owned vineyard and olive business. His family also has extensive cattle interests of their own.