Dismay over new line-up at Olympus
ANY hopes that Olympus was ready to move on from a $1.7bn (£1.07bn) accounting scandal were dashed yesterday after a raft of boardroom hirings sparked fresh criticism.
The Japanese maker of cameras and medical equipment said it had nominated an insider, executive officer Hiroyuki Sasa, to become president and former banker Yasuyuki Kimoto as chairman, subject to approval at its shareholders’ meeting on 20 April. Kimoto was previously an executive at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (SMBC), Olympus’ main lender.
The firm, which is thought to be considering a capital raising, also nominated as a board member Hideaki Fujizuka, a former executive of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, which is another Olympus creditor.
The move prompted anger at Southeastern Asset Management, one of the largest foreign investors in Olympus, as well as with Michael Woodford, the British former chief executive who was sacked after acting as whistleblower.
Josh Shores, senior analyst and principal at Southeastern, said he was “extremely disappointed”.
Woodford told City A.M. the appointments were wrong given that Olympus is still being investigated in Japan, the US and Britain. Earlier he said: “Looking at capital raising, to have a representative of the bank there as the chairman will only frustrate and alienate any independent foreign shareholder.”
Olympus said the new 11-person board would include six outside directors, more than the current three. None of the existing board members have been re-nominated.
SMBC could not be contacted last night and its UK subsidiary declined to comment.