US hedge fund in fresh attack over £19.4bn bid for Dulux

VULTURE hedge fund Elliott Advisors is threatening legal action against Dulux’s owner if it doesn’t give shareholders a vote to dismiss its chief.

The New York investor, which owns just over 3pc of the paint maker’s parent company Akzo Nobel, called for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to remove Akzo chairman Antony Burgmans on Wednesday.

But the calls were dismissed by Akzo, which said a removal would be damaging to the company and the agenda item would be rejected as a result.

Now, Elliott has threatened to take its case to the courts.

It said: ‘Shareholders have a legal right under Dutch law to put a proposal to dismiss Mr Burgmans onto the EGM agenda. To the extent that Akzo Nobel refuses to put this item on to the EGM agenda, Elliott intends to use its recourse to the Dutch courts.’

Elliott and Akzo have been locked in a bitter ‘Game of Thrones’ after the paintmaker snubbed American predator PPG. The Dutch firm rejected a £19.4bn PPG bid last month and an earlier £18.1bn bid, saying many jobs would be lost.

The takeover has sparked fears over the future of 3,300 Akzo staff in the UK, in the north-east of England, Glasgow, Suffolk, the Midlands and Slough. Eamon O’Hearn, GMB national officer, said: ‘It is almost certain that any takeover would result in job losses and site closures which would impact on UK communities.’

A Unite union spokesman said: ‘Akzo Nobel has put down a strong marker that it is opposing the takeover. As always, the job security and welfare of our members is the top priority for Unite.’

Elliott is understood to have won the support of five other shareholders. Templeton Global Equity group yesterday said it backed the plan for an EGM.

But Akzo has reported Elliott to financial regulators, accusing it of intending to share ‘potentially price sensitive information’ with PPG.