Activist investor Jeremy Raper is set to initiate a board spill at Humm Group, a non-bank lender listed on the ASX with a market value of $317 million. After nearly six months of negotiations with the company’s board, Raper, along with Collin Street Asset Management, filed a notice of intention to convene an extraordinary general meeting on Monday. This action follows the collapse of discussions with Humm’s board on Friday.
Raper and Collin Street Asset Management, who collectively own 8.5 percent of Humm, are preparing to submit the final paperwork for the meeting on Tuesday. Their aim is to remove three board members, including Andrew Abercrombie, the company’s founder, Robert Hines, the chair of Humm’s independent board committee, and Andrew Darbyshire, an independent director. The latter has faced criticism for refusing to sign off on Humm’s full-year accounts.
The shareholders are currently deliberating whether to call the meeting under section 249D or 249F of the Corporations Act. The latter option would require the dissident shareholders to bear the costs of the meeting, rather than the company. One advantage of this approach is that the targeted board members would not have access to voting proxies in advance.
Raper has previously expressed his intention to join the board, nominating himself along with Garry Sladden, chairman of Ignite and a former executive connected to Kerry Packer, and Rajeev Dhawan, a former Humm director. Dhawan left the Humm board in 2022 following disagreements with Abercrombie.
Raper has criticized the company for what he views as an ineffective use of time regarding Abercrombie’s $286 million bid to take Humm private, which was not made binding. He has called for a renewal of the board to enhance company performance.
Concerns regarding Humm’s communication practices have also arisen. Reports in the Australia Financial Review indicate that Abercrombie has requested revisions to a trading update for the September quarter, which has led to worries among senior staff about inconsistent information being provided to investors.
As tensions rise and the extraordinary general meeting approaches, the outcome could significantly impact Humm Group’s governance and future direction.
