Doubt has been cast on the validity of the call for a meeting to vote on proposed changes to the West African Minerals (LON:WAFM) board.
The issue hinges on the company’s articles of association, which stipulate that shareholders exercising more than 30% of the company’s voting rights may submit a written request to convene a meeting of shareholders.
Just such a request was received from Beaufort Nominees, which controls 31.2% of West African's share capital, and Panetta Partners, which owns 13.3%. The pair requested a meeting so shareholders can vote on the proposed removal of Gerard Holden and Anton Mauve from the board, and the election as directors of Willy Simon, Sanjiv Sangar and Andrew Gutmann.
It turns out that the WAFM shares that Beaufort holds are held on behalf of clients, and that Beaufort does not have discretionary voting rights over those shares.
WAFM is requesting further clarification from Panetta's solicitors to determine whether the requisition letter is valid under the articles of association. Any general meeting cannot be convened unless and until this has been established, WAFM said.
West African’s shares finished the day 4.6% higher at 2.875p.