Belvédère suffers shareholder revolt

Three independent board members and the chairman of wine and spirits producer Belvédère are facing dismissal at the request of prominent shareholders in the company.

The group’s chairman faces removal from the company’s board following moves by prominent shareholders to oust him (Photo: Belvédère)

Two of Belvédère’s largest holding companies are taking joint action to oust the board members, replacing them with three new independents and a member affiliated with one of the shareholding firms.

At the end of last month, two of Belvédère’s holding companies – Groupe Diana Holdings (a 17.31% shareholder) and DF Holding (5.66%) – informed the group of their desire to remove the board members, including chairman Benoît Hérault.

Belvédère has made this public after the board of directors met yesterday to discuss the situation. The news comes ahead of the company’s shareholders’ meeting on 30 June.

The board members facing removal from the top of the company will stand down if shareholders vote to remove them, according to a statement from Belvédère.

“Given the Company’s shareholder split, the independent board members indicated above feel that, having been appointed by the shareholders’ meeting, it is up to the latter to define the composition of the company’s management bodies and the control of its governance, and not up to certain board members,” the group said.

However, the board is encouraging shareholders to vote to reinstate the threatened executives and to appoint a representative for the aggrieved DF Holding, which is acting in conjunction with Diana Holding. However, the board is asking shareholders to prevent DF from taking more than a third of the seats on the board.

It is believed that the split in shareholders has been caused by the company’s poor performance of late. Last month, the company revealed it had cut its marketing budget by €6.5m (£4.73m) and its workforce by around 500 people to help save money in the face of falling value sales.

Last year, the company’s operating profit was in the red by €13.9m (£10.1m), and its sales dropped by €72.9m (£53m) to €466.7m (£340m), a 16.4% fall.

In a bid to win back the support of wavering stakeholders, the company is pointing to its “new senior management team” appointed last year, an “overhaul” of its internal organisation, the initiation of a three-year strategic plan and the introduction of better accountancy practices.