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(Alliance News) - Stelios Haji-Ioannou, easyJet PLC's founder and its largest shareholder, published a 1,000-word tirade on Monday ahead of the general meeting scheduled for August that he instigated.
Haji-Ioannou, who owns a 33.73% stake in the FTSE 100 budget airline, requisitioned the meeting where shareholders will get a vote on whether four board members - including Chair John Barton, and chief executive Johan Lundgren, and Chief Financial Officer Andrew Findlay - should be ousted.
Haji-Ioannou has lambasted easyJet's board over a GBP4.5 billion order for Airbus SE aircraft and his Monday publication was more of the same, with comments such as "our shares will become worthless if we don't cancel the Airbus order".
"I have called for this vote not for the removal of 4 directors from the board of easyJet but because it is the only method a shareholder has to require the remaining 7 directors to serve notice of termination to Airbus for the order for 107 additional completely unnecessary aircraft costing us GBP4.5 billion," Haji-Ioannou insisted.
The embittered founder also declared that he would "sue the directors personally for breach of their fiduciary duty" in the event of easyJet falling into administration after paying money to Airbus at a time when flights are grounded due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Haji-Ioannou said it will likely take a minimum of three years before easyJet returns to pre-Covid airline revenue and lampooned easyJet's house broker, Credit Suisse, for continuing to forecast financial 2021 revenue in line with 2019 and with a higher profit margin.
"Pretending such wildly optimistic forecasts are real is the only way the directors can justify not terminating the Airbus order," said Haji-Ioannou.
On top of this, Haji-Ioannou alluded to possible bribery: "Airbus was convicted by a UK court on 31 January 2020 for bribing airline executives around the world on a massive scale. Consistent with ingrained lack of governance, John Barton refused my request to set up an independent inquiry to investigate if Airbus bribery techniques were used in securing easyJet orders. Since 2013, when John Barton arrived at easyJet and the last shareholder vote was held on buying Airbus aircraft (which I voted against), these directors have taken delivery of 160 Airbus aircraft and have an outstanding order for 107 so, in total, agreed to purchase 267 aircraft when the 2013 vote approved only 135. "
He called Airbus "the biggest threat to easyJet shareholder value" and asked shareholders to approve the removal of directors at the AGM.
Earlier in April, easyJet said it pushed back the deliveries of 24 Airbus aircraft until the end of financial 2022. The company said it has "no ability to terminate the contract" and would be liable to pay any future losses which the aircraft manufacturer could incur if the deal is terminated.
Shares in easyJet were up 2.3% at 586.20 pence in London on Monday afternoon.
By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com
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