Congratulations to Rothwell on building an amazing company from scratch and all of his hard work and dedication to making Austal the global shipbuilder it is today.
I agree with the above sentiment that his retirement is likely to remove an impediment for the board making any recommendation regarding potential M&A activity. There was a vote only at the last AGM, held in October 2023, to keep Rothwell as Chairman, so his departure does seem somewhat abrupt. Perhaps he felt he couldn't vote for any sale and so he has stepped aside to allow others on the board to make recommendations to shareholders. He will of course still have ~9% of shares to direct however he feels on any offer.
Irrespective of if the Hanwha or any other acquisition deal goes through, I think that Former Navy Secretary Spencer's appointment as Chairman is likely a positive for Austal receiving potential future USN contracts.
NFA / DYOR
ASB Price at posting:
$2.45 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
A personalised tool to help users track selected stocks. Delivering real-time notifications on price updates, announcements, and performance stats on each to help make informed investment decisions.
(20min delay)