AMA Group was due to deliver its full year results on Thursday 31 August but cancelled the webinar 10 minutes beforehand and suspended share trading until Monday. The Australian Financial Reviews’ Street Talk says it understands that AMA Group has Canaccord Genuity working on a capital raise and was expected to offer the shares at 8.5c each. The last time AMA undertook a capital raise was in September 2021 when investors gave it $100 million equity at 37.5c a share.
An announcement of board and management changes was posted on the ASX on 1 September, CEO Carl Bizon will retire as CEO at the Group’s AGM on 23 November.
“I was never going to be the journeyman, I was there to do a particular task of improving the company’s governance, take a strategic look at the business, and to see what my 40-odd years of industrial experience could bring to bear in terms of setting the company up for its future as a large-scale Australian listed business,” Bizon told AFR Weekend.
“If people are putting money into the company [with this capital raising], they need a CEO who’s dedicated for the next three to five years to extracting the value around those things.”
Anthony Day has retired as Chair and non-executive director. Paul Ruiz has also retired as Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee for what was described as personal reasons.
The AMA Group ASX announcement stated that the Group had undergone transformation over the last few years with improvement in governance and professionalism: ‘Today, the operations of the business are poised for the next phase. The timing is right for new leadership to realise the potential of the Group and capitalise on these strong foundations.’
Independent non-executive director, Caroline Waldron has stepped into the role of Chair of the board. Waldron is a lawyer with extensive commercial and governance experience gained from listed and blue-chip entities.
Current independent non-executive director Talbot Babineau has been appointed deputy chair as the group: ‘seeks to leverage his deep understanding of North American collision industry best practice.’
Simon Moore has become chair of the audit and risk committee. The announcement says that the board review its composition and skills before recruiting new members. A new CEO is being sought and external and internal candidates will be considered.
Waldron thanked the outgoing board members and said: “I also thank Carl for his tenacious prosecution of the interests of the Group and our team, and Paul for his professionalism and dedication. The Group’s progress under extraordinary circumstances is a testament to the leadership and resourcefulness of these three people.
“Our shareholders have been patient, and our team members resilient, as we have weathered the challenges of the last few years. We now have the foundations in place to allow us to harness the exceptional talent within our business, to deliver meaningful value to our customers, team and shareholders through operational excellence.
“This is an opportunity for renewal for the next phase and I look forward to working with the board as we conduct our search for the new CEO of AMA Group, and as we round out the board to lead the business into the future.”