Director of company that may acquire Vodafone NZ resigns from Spark's board

Monday, 13 May 2019

Spark director Alison Gerry has resigned from the company's board in the wake of the revelation last week that infrastructure company Infratil was in talks to acquire rival Vodafone NZ.

Gerry is also a director of Infratil, and Spark chairwoman Justine Smyth said Gerry was concerned that created 'a potential or perceived conflict of interest'.  

Infratil went into a trading halt on Friday, confirming an Australian Financial Review report that it and another party – believed to be Canadian investment company Brookfield – were in discussions about a possible buyout of Vodafone's New Zealand business.

**READ MORE:

* Vodafone NZ needs buyer with a head for complexity

* Infratil confirms it wants to buy Vodafone**

'While according to Infratil's statement the discussions with Vodafone are 'ongoing and incomplete and may not result in a transaction occurring', Gerry has offered her resignation as she is concerned about a potential or perceived conflict of interest going forward,' Smyth said in a statement.

Vodafone was one of Spark's 'major competitors in New Zealand', she noted.

Smyth later added that Spark had 'established processes in place' to manage any conflicts that directors sitting on multiple boards might face.

'In regards to Alison sitting on both the Spark and Infratil boards, we had processes established to ensure we were actively managing any potential conflicts she might face, and I'm fully confident that Alison was following those and has managed any potential conflict appropriately.

'Following the Infratil announcement on Friday, Alison contacted me to indicate she was considering her position on the Spark board, given the intense interest in the potential transaction. She subsequently confirmed to me today that she had decided to resign from the Spark board.'

Infratil has been approached for comment on how it managed the potential conflict.  

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