Rebel shareholders seeking places on the board of troubled theme parks operator Ardent Leisure have cut the number of their nominees from four to two, after the company acknowledged the need for board renewal.
Ariadne Australia, which is Ardent's largest shareholder, was seeking to appoint Ariadne executive director Gary Weiss and three other nominees to the Ardent Leisure board at a shareholder meeting scheduled for September 4.
Dr Weiss and Kevin Seymour said in a statement on Friday that they had considered the views of shareholders regarding board composition, including those relating to the number of new directors being proposed.
"Accordingly, in response to the feedback we have received and consistent with our assurance that we do not seek control of the Ardent board, we have determined that it is now appropriate to withdraw two of our four director nominees (namely, Mr Seymour and Mr Andrew Hedges)," the statement said.
Dr Weiss and Mr Seymour said Ardent's recently-announced appointment of a US-based director with experience in the theme parks industry, and the announcement that at least two current directors will step down in the next 15 months, will pave the way for much-needed board strengthening.
The rebels will now only proceed with the nominations of Dr Weiss and Brad Richmond.
