Healius shares surge after chair Jenny Macdonald stands down

The news: Healius has announced its chair Jenny Macdonald will not stand for re-election at the company's annual general meeting on Tuesday.

The numbers: The move follows the healthcare company's dire $187 million equity raising last week, which was at a 34.6% discount to the previous week's closing price. On Wednesday, Healius shares sank by up to 33%.

The context: The board has appointed Healius non-executive director Kate McKenzie as interim chair, and will work with an executive search firm to commence a process to identify and appoint a new chair.

What they said: "I believe it is important for the company to have a chair who has the full support of shareholders and therefore I have taken the decision to step down and not to seek re-election, in the best interest of the company. Leadership stability will be crucial for Healius as it further progresses the work required to ensure it is well positioned to take advantage of the strong long-term fundamentals for the Australian healthcare sector," said Macdonald.