Finance Week editor Alan Greenblo has left the magazine — or has he? Jacques Magliolo reports
BUSINESS magazine Finance Week’s editor Alan Greenblo bid a lengthy, sad, farewell in the latest issue of the magazine, in what seemed the last chapter of a long battle for control of the independent financial publication.
However, he was later quoted as vehemently denying to the Citizen newspaper that he intended leaving the publication. Greenblo has gone on leave and was not available for comment.
At a special shareholders’ meeting this week Stuart Murray was appointed new managing director and apparently also as acting editor. Murray, who is one of the founders of the magazine but has not been associated with it for some years, was also not available for comment.
A Supreme Court interim order in December placed a freeze on a block of shares controlled by Greenblo. This instantly shifted power to shareholders Richard Rolfe, also a founder of the magazine, and Lynne Hill. Greenblo claims Hill is acting on behalf of her husband, Oliver Hill, who is wanted in South Africa on foreign exchange fraud charges.
With a majority stake in the magazine, Rolfe and Hill immediately called for an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on February 8, where they forced Greenblo to resign as director.
However, it is not impossible Greenblo will attempt a comeback. The matter of the block of shares still has to be sorted out in court. If this is unfrozen, Greenblo will win the day and could reinstate himself as editor. But if he does, he may find that the fight has cost him the magazine’s staff, advertising or
Greenblo promised to take his staff with him if he left. While he may not have done so directly, the fight for control has been enough to cause at least two senior staff members, assistant editor Kerry Clarke and deputy editor Howard Preece, to leave.
Attorneys Moss Morris, acting on behalf of Rolfe and Hill, have assured staff that the magazine will be re- capitalised through a rights issue or by finding another partner. However, they refuse to divulge any
Greenblo’s departure is a result of a long battle for control after a falling out among the magazine’s founders, Greenblo, Rolfe and Murray.
Greenblo, with the help of Rand Merchant Bank, started a proxy fight. The bank had agreed to underwrite a rights issue for three years in favour of Greenblo, forcing out Rolfe and Murray. Problems came when Greenblo could not take up his option to buy the RMB
Greenblo’s first mistake was not buying the shares when the option became available, instead he approached Trust Bank, which funded the warehousing of the shares on behalf of the Duro Group. This group later changed its name to Tolgate Holdings and was eventually placed into liquidation and the shares once again came up for
Liquidators were appointed and it was confirmed that the shareholders had the right to refuse a transfer of the shares. Consequently, the offer was made to all existing shareholders on a pro-rata basis and, in this manner, Greenblo was able to retain control.
Only time will tell whether Greenblo will be able to continue the battle, or whether he will give up the intense struggle to which he has devoted his energies for the past eight years.