Humm Group chair Andrew Abercrombie steps down amid shareholder action
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The news: Buy now, pay later company Humm Group has announced its founder Andrew Abercrombie will step down as chair, effective immediately, "to avoid any perception of bias of conflict" following months of shareholder backlash.
The context: Abercrombie, who will remain a non-executive director, will be replaced by Robert Hines, who joined the board in 2022. The company said Hines will oversee its engagement with "any change of control proposals", including Credit Corp's current $385 million buyout bid.
The board has also decided to increase its size to six directors "as soon as practicable" after the upcoming extraordinary general meeting, slated for 19 February, which will see shareholders vote on a board spill motion to oust Abercrombie, Hines and fellow director Andrew Darbyshire.
Humm CEO Angelo Demasi is set to join the board along with an additional independent non-executive director.
The board said it has also commissioned an external review of governance arrangements "to ensure all processes remain best practice".
"The company has received initial feedback from the review, with early findings on current governance positive and planned actions supported," it said.
Abercrombie has faced scrutiny in recent weeks for the board's handling of Credit Corp's 77 cents-per-share takeover offer, announced in December, and subsequent share purchases that took his stake in the company to 29.19%. Veteran investor Anton Tagliaferro last month asked the Takeovers Panel to investigate.
The source: ASX
