The NZME board has backed the nomination of Steven Joyce as chair. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
- NZME board backs nomination of Steven Joyce as chair
- Activist shareholder Jim Grenon's bid to join the board also supported
- In return, Grenon's company has withdrawn its three director nominations
- Shareholders will vote on the nominations early next month
A peace deal has been achieved at media company NZME after its board backed the nomination of former National Cabinet minister Steven Joyce as chair, and Canadian billionaire Jim Grenon's bid to join him at the board table.
In an NZX announcement, NZME said JTG - a company under the ownership of Grenon - has withdrawn its director nominations for Philip Crump, Des Gittings and Henri Eliot.
JTG has also withdrawn its proposals to remove each of the four existing directors of NZME.
NZME's current chair Barbara Chapman is set to leave her role at the end of its annual shareholders meeting early next month, and current director Sussan Turner plans to stand for re-election.
The board said it "fully supported" the nominations.
The compromise comes after a war of words between the board and Grenon, who became an activist shareholder after taking a minority stake in NZME in March.
Grenon, a New Zealand resident, fought for control of the board because of dissatisfaction over the company's financial and business performance.
He nominated himself as chair, along with three other directors.
Grenon also mooted changes to manage the editorial direction of NZME's flagship NZ Herald, which sparked concerns from journalists within the newsroom about editorial independence.
Grenon has been linked with alternative news websites, including The Centrist.
The conflict led to NZME's board delaying the planned shareholders' meeting, voicing concerns about whether Grenon's proposals were in the best interests of the company and shareholders, including risks of him "gaining editorial control".
But Friday's announcement indicated the make-up of the board would be largely retained, except for Joyce likely becoming chair and Grenon joining him at the board table.
Shareholders will still need to support the board nominations at the annual meeting on 3 June.
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