Grenon, associates and NZME appear to reach a deal over board involvement

Friday, 9 May 2025

A notification to the NZX this afternoon from Barbara Chapman, chairperson of NZME, suggests the embattled directors of the listed media concern have reached a deal with Jim Grenon, the man who wanted to replace almost all of them just a few months ago.

The announcement, signed by Chapman, says JTG 4 Ltd, Grenon’s vehicle, has withdrawn the nominations of Philip Crump, Desmond (Des) Gittings and Henri Eliot as directors of NZME, as was first initially proposed by Grenon.

Louis Joseph, an individual shareholder, had also withdrawn his nomination. Yesterday Adam Hoydysh and John Lewis, directors of institutional investor Osmium Partners and Grenon allies, also withdrew their nominations.

It means that NZME now has two new directors to consider at its upcoming June 3 meeting - Steven Joyce, nominated by Stephen Donoghue-Cox, the husband of current chair Barbara Chapman, and Jim Grenon himself.

If Joyce is appointed as a director, it was expected he would be appointed as Chairman and “Grenon has confirmed to the board that he supports the appointment of Joyce as chairman”, the notification said.

It is known that another substantial institutional shareholder, Spheria Asset Management, also approve of Joyce in the role.

Chapman has confirmed she would retire as a director and chairman at the meeting - previous announcements this week suggested she’d be hanging on unless Joyce became chair - while none of the other directors that Grenon and his associates had wanted to turf from the board would be going anywhere.

It means the board as proposed would be Joyce, current board member Carol Campbell (who will retire at “such time as a suitable independent director is identified by the board with the required financial skills and experience to replace Campbell on the board and as chair of the NZME Audit & Risk Committee), current member Sussan Turner, current member Guy Horrocks and Jim Grenon.

After the June 3 meeting, Bowen Pan, a technology and marketplace expert, will be appointed as a director, a move supported by Joyce and Grenon.

As a sop to Grenon, Gittings would become a member of the OneRoof Advisory Board, and Crump would be part of an editorial board “to assist and advise the editorial team”. Crump is a lawyer and a conservative blogger and commentator

Two other members would be appointed to it “in due course”.

“The duration and any renewal of these two appointments will be at the discretion of the board,” the announcement said.

“The current board believes that the potential new board and governance arrangements will place NZME in a strong position to drive the business forward and deliver value for shareholders.”