Australia's Global Lithium management resigns ahead of AGM

Global Lithium Resources

12/02/2025 23:46

By Melanie Burton
       MELBOURNE, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Australia's Global Lithium
Resources  GL1.AX  said on Thursday two of its three board
directors have stepped down ahead of an annual shareholder
meeting later in the day that was set to strip them of control
of the company and its cornerstone asset.
    Executive Chairman Ron Mitchell has resigned while Matthew
Allen, a director and former chief financial officer, has
withdrawn his nomination for election as a non-executive
director ahead of a shareholders' vote on board nominees.
    Management had alleged that non-executive director Dianmin
Chen was working with a group of foreign-linked investors
holding between 30% and 40% of shares to take control of the
board and its Manna lithium project in Western Australia.
    Mitchell had alleged an undisclosed association among
shareholders may violate Australia's takeover laws and the
Foreign Takeovers Act. He made the accusations in filings to the
Australian Securities Exchange, the Western Australian Supreme
Court, and in a report to Australia's Treasury last year.
    The Takeovers Panel declined to review the company's request
for a finding of unacceptable circumstances, saying last week
that evidence pointed to "shareholder pressure rather than
combining for taking of control."
    The company said Chen will act as chairman of the annual
general meeting and that he intends to vote any undirected
proxies in favour of his re-election and the appointment of
Liaoliang (Leon) Zhu as a director.
    Chinese-born property developer Zhu, who controls Sincerity
Group, Global Lithium's third biggest shareholder, had pushed to
join the board in a letter to shareholders in August, citing a
pivot away from lithium by management and excessive spending.

    

 (Reporting by Melanie Burton in Melbourne and Himanshi Akhand
in Bengaluru; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
 ((Himanshi.Akhand@thomsonreuters.com;))