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Woodford furious at Olympus investors
Source: Agencies |
December 16, 2011, Friday
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THE whistleblower in Japan's Olympus Corp scandal, ex-CEO Michael Woodford, blasted Japanese shareholders yesterday for failing to stand up for him, amid signs that domestic and foreign investors are split over his campaign to be reinstated.
Woodford, an Englishman who was a rare foreign CEO in Japan, went public with his concerns over crooked accounting at Olympus after his dismissal in October, leading to the uncovering of a fraud that has left the company badly weakened.
He is now lobbying shareholders of the maker of cameras and medical equipment to support his reinstatement and replace the disgraced board with a new team he is assembling.
"We saw the shameful state of the company's finances yesterday, but not one Japanese shareholder stood up and said publicly 'Mr Woodford is right, thank you Mr Woodford,' anything, a total and utter silence," Woodford said, a day after Olympus released its restated accounts.
His comeback campaign has highlighted the contrasting opinions of foreign and Japanese shareholders on the future leadership of Olympus, which has been found to have carried out a US$1.7 billion fraud to hide investment losses for 13 years.
At least three major foreign shareholders have backed Woodford's bid to return to the company where he spent three decades working his way up from salesman to CEO. But not one Japanese shareholder or lender has openly supported him since he blew the whistle.
Woodford also launched an emotional attack on the firm's current Japanese boss.
"Should that man be the president and custodian of one of Japan's iconic companies?" he said of Shuichi Takayama, one of the directors who voted to sack him after he queried the firm's books.
Woodford said he had discussed refinancing options with private equity firms and investment banks, and voiced concern Takayama was planning to raise money by place new shares with a third party.
That would dilute the stakes of existing owners and weaken their hand in a proxy battle between Woodford and whoever the existing board chooses as its next CEO candidate.
The existing board, led by Takayama, has said he and fellow directors will resign soon, to make way for a new board to be elected by shareholders in March or April, and that the board wants to choose its successors before it quits.
Takayama even suggested the board would consider Woodford as a candidate, but few analysts gave the gesture any credence.
Woodford says the board is discredited and has no right to choose its successors.
Olympus has lost more than half its market value since the scandal erupted.
Two top Olympus executives have been found to have masterminded the scheme to cook the books, and both have since resigned.
Woodford, an Englishman who was a rare foreign CEO in Japan, went public with his concerns over crooked accounting at Olympus after his dismissal in October, leading to the uncovering of a fraud that has left the company badly weakened.
He is now lobbying shareholders of the maker of cameras and medical equipment to support his reinstatement and replace the disgraced board with a new team he is assembling.
"We saw the shameful state of the company's finances yesterday, but not one Japanese shareholder stood up and said publicly 'Mr Woodford is right, thank you Mr Woodford,' anything, a total and utter silence," Woodford said, a day after Olympus released its restated accounts.
His comeback campaign has highlighted the contrasting opinions of foreign and Japanese shareholders on the future leadership of Olympus, which has been found to have carried out a US$1.7 billion fraud to hide investment losses for 13 years.
At least three major foreign shareholders have backed Woodford's bid to return to the company where he spent three decades working his way up from salesman to CEO. But not one Japanese shareholder or lender has openly supported him since he blew the whistle.
Woodford also launched an emotional attack on the firm's current Japanese boss.
"Should that man be the president and custodian of one of Japan's iconic companies?" he said of Shuichi Takayama, one of the directors who voted to sack him after he queried the firm's books.
Woodford said he had discussed refinancing options with private equity firms and investment banks, and voiced concern Takayama was planning to raise money by place new shares with a third party.
That would dilute the stakes of existing owners and weaken their hand in a proxy battle between Woodford and whoever the existing board chooses as its next CEO candidate.
The existing board, led by Takayama, has said he and fellow directors will resign soon, to make way for a new board to be elected by shareholders in March or April, and that the board wants to choose its successors before it quits.
Takayama even suggested the board would consider Woodford as a candidate, but few analysts gave the gesture any credence.
Woodford says the board is discredited and has no right to choose its successors.
Olympus has lost more than half its market value since the scandal erupted.
Two top Olympus executives have been found to have masterminded the scheme to cook the books, and both have since resigned.
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