Tanarra Capital's John Wylie on his ‘constructive’ activist campaign at Lendlease
The ASX is littered with examples of combative investors lighting a fuse under the very companies they are trying to save. John Wylie’s Tanarra Capital says he is on a mission to do things differently.
When a letter from Tanarra Capital to the board of Lendlease went public last week, stomachs must have turned in the construction giant’s Barangaroo boardroom.
Methodically documenting the key issues they believe are at the heart of decades of underperformance, high-profile former investment banker and now Tanarra CEO John Wylie, flanked by investment managers Vidhur Rangaswamy and Lee Mickelburough, loudly called for a complete strategic overhaul.
The list of proposals included slashing costs and reducing headcount, exiting ailing long-term projects, spinning off Lendlease’s international operations and doubling down on its strengths at home in a bid to bolster Lendlease’s return on equity.
But rather than go to war with Lendlease management and CEO Tony Lombardo to achieve those ends, Wylie says he is keen to work “in a constructive way”.
