Anonymous ID: ddbbc9 April 22, 2019, 5:57 p.m. No.6278986   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>9077 >>9348

PG&E in deal with BlueMountain appoints new independent director

(Reuters) - California utility owner PG&E Corp said on Monday it agreed to a deal with BlueMountain Capital Management LLC to appoint a new independent director and a safety adviser, resolving a months-long battle with the activist shareholder.

BlueMountain, a New York-based hedge fund, in March selected 13 candidates it hoped to install as directors at PG&E’s board after slamming the embattled power utility for seeking bankruptcy protection.

 

As part of the agreement, BlueMountain will withdraw its nominee slate of 13 candidates and vote in favor of PG&E’s board nominees at the meeting, PG&E said in a statement.

 

PG&E said it has appointed Fred Buckman, former chief executive officer of utilities Consumers Energy and PacifiCorp, as an independent director, effective immediately, while Christopher Hart, former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, will serve as a special independent safety adviser.

 

Buckman replaces Richard Kelly, who has resigned as a director.

 

Buckman and Hart, nominated by BlueMountain, will serve the same roles at PG&E’s subsidiary Pacific Gas and Electric Co.

 

The company said it will propose to increase the maximum size of PG&E’s board to 15 directors, to be voted on at its annual meeting of shareholders.

 

“We believe the changes and other undertakings announced today reflect the boards’ commitment to improving their governance and oversight,” BlueMountain Chief Investment Officer Andrew Feldstein said in the statement.

 

PG&E filed for bankruptcy in January as it faces crushing liabilities related to deadly wildfires in 2017 and 2018 that killed dozens of people and destroyed thousands of homes.

 

PG&E recently hired Bill Johnson as its CEO, after a group of investors, including Knighthead Capital Management, Redwood Capital Management and Abrams Capital Management, pushed for his appointment.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pg-e-us-bluemountain/pge-in-deal-with-bluemountain-appoints-new-independent-director-idUSKCN1RZ01B?il=0

Anonymous ID: ddbbc9 April 22, 2019, 6:20 p.m. No.6279250   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>9348

Tokyo prosecutors indict Carlos Ghosn on misappropriation charge in 'most serious allegation' yet

 

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office on Monday indicted former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn for a fourth time, this charge for allegedly misappropriating the company’s money for personal use — an accusation described by legal experts as the most serious brought against him so far.

 

With the latest charge, Ghosn is accused of expropriating a Nissan subsidiary’s payments to Suhail Bahwan Automobiles, a Nissan distributor in Oman.

 

Prosecutors allege that some of the money, about ÂĄ560 million, had been siphoned off by Ghosn and sent to Good Faith Investments (GFI), a Lebanese investment firm he effectively controlled, for his own personal use, such as for the purchase of a luxury yacht.

 

Ghosn’s defense team submitted a request for bail later in the day.

 

He had already been arrested and indicted on charges related to underreporting his remuneration for years and making Nissan cover some of his personal investment losses in 2008. He denies any wrongdoing.

 

“Carlos Ghosn is innocent of the latest charges brought against him by the Tokyo prosecutors, aided and abetted by certain Nissan conspirators,” a spokesperson for Ghosn said in a statement Monday. “Mr. Ghosn will continue to vigorously defend himself against these baseless accusations and fully expects to be vindicated.”

 

In a related development Monday, Nissan filed a criminal complaint against Ghosn over aggravated breach of trust.

 

The carmaker said in a statement it has determined that the payments in question “were in fact directed by Ghosn for his personal enrichment and were not necessary from a business standpoint.”

 

“Such misconduct is completely unacceptable, and Nissan is requesting appropriately strict penalties,” the statement read.

 

Stephen Givens, a Tokyo-based corporate lawyer, said the fourth charge is the most serious accusation prosecutors have made so far against the 65-year-old former auto titan.

 

After Ghosn was arrested in early April his wife, Carole, ramped up her worldwide media blitz defending him and criticizing Japan’s legal system.

 

Kyodo News reported that prosecutors believe some of the money sent to GFI was diverted to Beauty Yachts, Carole Ghosn’s firm registered in the British Virgin Islands. She has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

 

Earlier this month Carole Ghosn left Japan for France soon after his fourth arrest. On Friday, Yasuyuki Takai, an attorney and former prosecutor, said such a move could jeopardize any bail request by Ghosn as he might conspire with his wife and destroy any evidence.

 

But Shin Ushijima, a Tokyo-based corporate lawyer, said the Tokyo District Court will likely grant bail for a second time, adding that his bail request has already been approved and there is no reason for the court to deny another request for release.

 

He also dismissed speculation that Carole Ghosn’s trip to France would unlikely affect the decision to grant bail. Ghosn’s first trial, which was expected to take place some time this autumn, may be pushed back due to the latest charge, Ushijima added.

 

“The focus will be on whether the trial will be held by the end of the year,” Ushijima said.

 

Ghosn was rearrested while out on bail on April 4. He and his lawyers denounced his fourth arrest, blasting it as an “arbitrary” attempt to sabotage his planned April 11 news conference. He has been held since that day at the Tokyo Detention House, where he had been detained for 108 days until he won his release on bail March 6.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/04/22/business/corporate-business/tokyo-prosecutors-indict-carlos-ghosn-misappropriation-charge-serious-allegation-yet/