heads to roll

Rebel Molopo shareholders want heads to roll
Mathew Murphy January 12, 2011
A GROUP of shareholders of Molopo Energy have renewed their criticism of the oil and gas company's board, complaining of its underperforming share price, delays to its Canadian listing and a ''strategic scatter-gun approach'' that has produced ''a disparate collection of assets across four continents''.
The shareholders, led by the property developer Max Beck and including the poker machines magnate Bruce Mathieson, will try to remove board members at a general meeting of Molopo shareholders on February 15. The shareholders, who control almost 7 per cent of the register, are seeking to remove the chairman, Don Beard, and the non-executive director David Hobday and install Mr Beck and a former Shell executive, Greg Lewin, to the board.
In a statement to shareholders yesterday, the group said: ''We are aware of the cost and distraction that an extraordinary general meeting can cause, and we have not taken this step lightly. We have sought the views of many Molopo shareholders and determined that urgent action is required to restore confidence in the board and address the issues many shareholders believe have contributed to Molopo's prolonged period of share price underperformance.''
Molopo, which is valued at about $255 million, holds mainly unconventional oil and gas interests, such as coal seam gas and shale gas, in Australia, Canada, the US and South Africa. Its share price dropped almost 20 per cent last year.
Mr Beard told BusinessDay that was why the board was pushing to list on the Toronto stock exchange, and trigger a re-rating of the shares.
''The shares are undervalued but then so are many companies around the place. Coal bed methane and unconventional gas is not something that Joe Blow understands readily,'' There are enough shareholders out there with positive support ? who see what we have done and will support that next month.''
Mr Beard said the appointments of Mr Beck or Mr Lewin would not do much to turn things around. ''It may well be that we need more people on the board, but I don't think I would be choosing people, firstly, that don't have experience in what we are doing and, secondly, I certainly wouldn't be choosing someone who has no experience at all.''
http://www.smh.com.au/business/rebel-molopo-shareholders-want-heads-to-roll-20110111-19mma.html