Ager-Hanssen - through Custos group AS which holds a 20% Johnston stake - originally looked to install Salmond to the board alongside Steve Auckland as non-executive directors in November 2017. This was deemed invalid by Johnston shortly after.
According to The Times, Ager-Hanssen no had no plans to replace the board of Johnston. Ager-Hanssen, however, told the newspaper that Salmond "would still be a great chairman for Johnston Press."
"There has certainly not been any change in the people involved from our side. It's all about timing," said Ager-Hanssen.
"Speculation about who I want to put on the board at this stage doesn't matter any more. We no longer want to put anyone on the board of Johnston. Our plan now is to sit and wait," Ager-Hanssen explained. "Johnston is 1% of our portfolio. We're not going to be active. We intend to just wait and see what happens."
"The current board must sort out its own mess and the mess they have put the company in," Ager-Hanssen added. "We're a passive owner now."
Salmond has faced increasing criticism in recent weeks due to his role at Russian state-funded television channel RT. This is after the attempted murder to Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in
The Times reported that Ager-Hanssen, responding to the new controversy around Salmond, said: "You can’t combine these two things. I have full trust in Alex Salmond. I decide strategy, and the only thing that has changed in my strategy is my timing."
Shares in Johnston Press were 2.4% lower at
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/johnston-press-activist-christen-ager-hanssen-puts-alex-salmond-scotsman-plan-on-hold-z7p5mgk6q
