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| EasyJet founder's attempt to block aircraft order was doomed from the off | EasyJet founder's attempt to block aircraft order was doomed from the off |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou's attempt to block easyJet's order of 135 Airbus aircraft looked doomed from the off, and so it has proved. The founder-turned-agitator seems to have been almost the only dissenter at Thursday's shareholder vote on the purchase. As with last year's attempt to eject the chairman, the family's 36.5% stake has not been enough. | |
| The interesting question is what Sir Stelios does next. Past quarrels, over pay and dividends, were serious but a multi-billion pound aircraft order is plainly of a different order entirely. It is fundamental to any view of easyJet as an investment. In Sir Stelios's opinion, easyJet's board is engaged in a "vanity exercise" that will destroy shareholder value. | |
| His analysis baffles many observers (including this column) but the logic of his position is that he should look to sell his shares sharpish. Indeed, he said in January that he would look to off-load a few ahead of any order to send "a clear message" to the board. He missed his own deadline and now his "message" has been ignored by the board and fellow shareholders. What's he waiting for? Hasn't he noticed that easyJet's share price is soaring, up 50% since his January blast? | His analysis baffles many observers (including this column) but the logic of his position is that he should look to sell his shares sharpish. Indeed, he said in January that he would look to off-load a few ahead of any order to send "a clear message" to the board. He missed his own deadline and now his "message" has been ignored by the board and fellow shareholders. What's he waiting for? Hasn't he noticed that easyJet's share price is soaring, up 50% since his January blast? |
| Well, one problem is that the Haji-Ioannou family stake is worth almost £2bn these days. That's a chunky holding. But it's far from impossible to sell in an orderly fashion - a dispatch in a few bundles would do the trick given the market's current appetite for easyJet shares. | Well, one problem is that the Haji-Ioannou family stake is worth almost £2bn these days. That's a chunky holding. But it's far from impossible to sell in an orderly fashion - a dispatch in a few bundles would do the trick given the market's current appetite for easyJet shares. |
| Sir Stelios would then able to depart while claiming – fairly – that his long campaign of activism has benefited all shareholders. He was instrumental in pushing the importance of dividends and returns on capital, for example. Alternatively, January's statement was bluster – he's a hard man to read. |