Moves to revamp Dreamworld board
ACTIVIST investor Ariadne has ramped up pressure against struggling theme park operator Ardent Leisure in a letter to shareholders that accuses the board of poor financial performance.
Ariadne and its associates, which control about 10 per cent of the owner of Dreamworld, yesterday called on shareholders to vote for a new board in September that they say will restore value in the company.
Ariadne said Ardent’s shares had dropped by more than half over the past three years as it underperformed rivals such as Village Roadshow, the operator of Movie World and Sea World.
Ariadne wants veteran corporate raider Gary Weiss and property tycoon Kevin Seymour on the board along with two other nominees to begin the process of “returning wealth” to shareholders.
Ardent has been under a spotlight following an accident on a Dreamworld ride last October that resulted in the death of four tourists.
Ariadne said that while the share price decline was partly attributable to the accident, there had been a prolonged deterioration in the overall performance of the group.
There were uncertainties about growth at its ten pin bowling centres in the US and whether there had been adequate investment in Dreamworld to take advantage of rising inbound tourism.
Revenue per patron at Ardent’s theme parks including Dreamworld had lagged Village Roadshow’s Gold Coast parks over the past few years.
“These issues create deep concern for Ardent’s future direction and the current board’s ability to oversee long-term security wealth creation,” the letter said.
The attack on Ardent’s board comes as Malaysian billionaire Lee Seng Huang this week bought a 5.3 per cent stake in Ardent through his Hong Kong-based businesses.
Mr Seymour, who controls about 4 per cent of Ardent, said it was important that Dreamworld was brought “back on track”.
“It is an iconic Queensland business that will create employment for Queenslanders,” Mr Seymour said.
Ariadne said there had been multiple changes in the company’s senior management that had led to further uncertainty.
In 2015, Deborah Thomas, the former editor of the Australian Women’s Weekly, replaced the well-respected Greg Shaw, who had been in the role for 13 years.
Ms Thomas herself departed with Ardent last month in the wake of the Dreamworld accident and poor sales growth at its US bowling centres.
Ardent chairman George Venardos said he would not support Ariadne’s move to appoint new directors. He declined to comment further on the claims made in Ariadne’s letter. Ardent shares closed at $2.06 yesterday.