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By Sarah Young
LONDON, May 12 (Reuters) - EasyJet founder Stelios
Haji-Ioannou is offering 5 million pounds ($6.2 million) for any
information that leads to the cancellation of its order for 107
Airbus jets as he steps up his campaign to oust the
budget airline's management.
Haji-Ioannou, whose family owns a third of easyJet's shares,
has argued for a decade that the airline's fleet expansion would
destroy shareholder value and he has intensified his push for
management changes since the coronavirus decimated air travel.
He has ordered a special shareholder vote on May 22 to try
to remove the airline's chief executive, chairman and two other
directors. He would need over 50% of the votes to succeed and a
number of big investors have said they will back management.
In a statement on Tuesday, Haji-Ioannou said he was looking
for tips or information from easyJet insiders about any
suspicious dealings with Airbus, such as lavish entertainment or
unexplained wealth.
The European planemaker agreed in January to pay $4 billion
in fines after reaching a plea bargain with prosecutors in
Britain, France and United States over alleged bribery and
corruption stretching back at least 15 years.
EasyJet issued a statement on Tuesday rejecting any
suggestion it had acted improperly, as it did on April 27 after
Haji-Ioannou called the shareholder vote.
"As we have previously stated, the board firmly rejects any
insinuation that easyJet was involved in any impropriety.
EasyJet has maintained the highest standards of governance and
scrutiny in respect of its aircraft procurement processes," it
said.
EasyJet said it had hired an external auditor to review the
fleet selection process that led to the 4.5 billion pound Airbus
order in 2013 and the auditor's report confirmed that robust
procurement processes had been followed.
SUFFICIENT LIQUIDITY
Haji-Ioannou said on Tuesday he would pay 10,000 pounds for
any tips that help his campaign, as well as the 5 million pound
reward if they lead to the order being cancelled.
"If you are a current or past hard-working easyJet employee,
or anyone else who has seen anything suspicious by anyone inside
easyJet in their dealings with Airbus, you could get a reward
from Stelios worth up to 5 million pounds," he said.
EasyJet has said it has sufficient liquidity for a prolonged
grounding of its planes due to the coronavirus pandemic and that
the Airbus contract is vital to its future as the new jets are
needed to replace older aircraft.
Some shareholders agree. Three of the company's bigger
shareholders, who collectively own about 15% of the stock, have
said they will back the current management in the vote. EasyJet
also said on Tuesday that investor advisory groups ISS, Glass
Lewis and PIRC have recommended shareholders back management.
Haji-Ioannou said on Tuesday that easyJet's Airbus order
puts the future of the company at risk as it cannot afford to
pay the planemaker when it is has no revenue and it won't need
the planes after the pandemic because air travel will slump.
Haji-Ioannou, who founded easyJet in 1995 but stepped down
from its board in 2010 in protest over its expansion plans, also
noted that the airline had not yet announced any job cuts.
Rivals such as Ryanair, British Airways and
Wizz Air have all said they will need to make thousands
of layoffs to weather the coronavirus crisis and cope with a
smaller market afterwards.
($1 = 0.8113 pounds)
(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by David Clarke)
