OPINION: The breadth of AGL’s capitulation to Mike Cannon-Brookes is breathtaking. But the billionaire’s stake shouldn’t give him outsized influence on AGL’s future.
The capitulation of AGL Energy’s board at the hands of tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes is so comprehensive that it’s almost hard to believe.
The board appears to be throwing its hands up in the air. The resounding impression left by Monday’s announcement is one of a company whose future is completely up for grabs.There is no question this is a huge win for the tech billionaire’s unique brand of activism. Cannon-Brookes’ campaign has been relentless and clever, launching a blitz across capital markets and traditional and social media that AGL was simply unable to match.
Cannon-Brookes has quickly and justifiably claimed an impressive victory. Not only has he succeeded in having AGL abandon the demerger plan before it even went to a vote on June 15 and commit again on Monday to trying to shut its coal-fired power stations earlier than planned, but he has unseated the group’s top management and opened the door for his private vehicle, Grok Ventures, to exert influence over what happens next at AGL.
But two board seats on an eight-person board would hand an unjustified level of control to a party that tried to buy AGL just a few months ago.
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