- Huw Hughes
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Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct released a new statement on Thursday
requesting a meeting of shareholders at Debenhams in a bid to appoint
Ashley to the company’s board.
The statement also requested that all current members of the Debenhams
board, apart from Rachel Osborne, be removed, and comes as part of an
ongoing effort by Ashley to take control of the UK department store.
Earlier in March, Debenhams released a statement saying it would give
“careful consideration” to a 150 million pound interest-free loan offered
to the company by Sports Direct. The loan would involve the sports retailer
getting an additional 5 percent stake in Debenhams, and would require the
appointment of Ashley as CEO. If these conditions were met, Sports Direct
said the loan would be “guaranteed to be interest-free.” If not, the loan
would bear interest at 3 percent.
Mike Ashley currently has a stake of 29.7 percent in Debenhams.
