I think the final sentence is pure speculation on your part...

I think the final sentence is pure speculation on your part (which is fine since we're all just speculating here to varying extents).

The fact remains that the ownership and board structure at Synlait inherently has A2M playing second fiddle to Bright. It is by design. They have always been on the outer, which is precisely why good old Geoff Babidge, in his glorious wisdom, took A2M up to the magic 19.9% blocking stake. On paper that investment is many fathoms under water but in practice, it has been critical.

But A2M has more power in this situation as a customer than as a shareholder. A2M is what makes Synlait's only valuable asset valuable. I guess my point is that remains the case irrespective of how nasty things have gotten between A2m and Synlait. If you're the Bright directors, and you see every other asset seemingly failing to generate any value, you don't just cut ties with the one customer that makes Dunsandel worth something.