GVC confirms agreed departure of Lee Feldman as Chairman
This weekend, UK business news sources reported that GVC Holdings seeks a new Chairman, as incumbent Lee Feldman is preparing to announce his formal departure from the FTSE100 betting group.
The news of the departure comes amid GVC investor backlash at Feldman and Chief Executive Kenneth Alexander having offloaded a combined 3 million of company shares, at the presumed ‘discounted price‘ of 666p (transaction – £20 million), of which Feldman pocketed £6 million.
The executives’ share sale carried out between 6-8 March, is reported to have drawn criticism from GVC investors, having shrunk the firm’s shareprice to 519p and further being branded as showing a ‘lack of confidence by leadership’ on GVC’s long-term prospects.
GVC governance has informed the media, that Feldman’s departure is unrelated to March’s share sale. The firm maintains that Feldman will be leaving the betting group, as part of City governance guidelines obliging FTSE Chairmanships to last no-longer than nine-years.
Feldman has been a GVC governance advisor since 2004 and was appointed corporate Chairman in 2008, becoming a key stakeholder in the firm’s aggressive M&A expansion strategy and corporate financing structures.
Closing Friday, GVC independent director Stephen Morana briefed investors and the media that corporate governance had begun an accelerated process to find Feldman’s successor.
Furthermore, seeking to quash industry rumours, Kenneth Alexander released a statement this March, detailing that he was committed to overseeing GVC’s growth in a changing global betting landscape.
“Whilst I continue to have the support of our shareholders, I’m here for the long term and at the very least I have a current plan that will take 3 plus years to accomplish,” – Kenneth Alexander GVC Holdings Group CEO
Source: SBC News
