Bwin and activist investor reach compromise on board seats

Bwin.Party and American activist investor Jason Ader’s SpringOwl Investments reached a last-minute compromise on board representation Wednesday following changes to the existing board earlier in the week that will see Manfred Bodner, Rod Perry and Helmut Kern depart in a phased step-down program.

Bwin announced prior to the agm Thursday that the two sides had agreed that Daniel Silvers would be appointed to the board to represent SpringOwl interests – the company has a 5.2 percent share in the group. There was also agreement that the appointment of another SpringOwl nominee, Michael Fertik, would be considered.

In return, Ader and SpringOwl will withdraw the four-director nominations put forward earlier (see previous  reports).

In a statement from Bwin, chairman-elect Philip Yea said: “There remains much work ahead and, together with the rest of the Board, I look forward to working closely with SpringOwl as a significant shareholder in bwin.party and welcome Dan Silvers to the Board as SpringOwl’s appointed nominee.”

Jason Ader commented: “Bwin.party is a business with great brands and enormous potential. We welcome the planned changes to the composition of the Board announced last week and are looking forward to working with Philip Yea and the Board over the coming period to ensure that this potential is both realised and translated into long-term value for shareholders.”

Related and similar