Dumisa Ntsebeza, chairman of media group Avusa, parent company of The Times, has resigned along with non-executive independent directors Tom Wixley and Babalwa Ngonyama.
Ntsebeza refused to comment on his exit , but Wixley said shareholders had interfered with board responsibilities.
"It is their company, I acknowledge that. But once a board has been put in place it must be allowed to run the company," he said.
Speculation in the industry was that the group's CEO, Prakash Desai, is planning to leave "soon". But this could not be confirmed last night.
At Avusa's AGM yesterday, Ntsebeza said the bid for Avusa, led by private-equity firm Capitau, did not go through as it had been impeded by tax-related regulations. The consortium was unable to provide the group with a clear process and defined time frame for obtaining the required SA Revenue Service and National Treasury approvals for the deductibility of the interest relating to the funding of the proposed transaction.
At market close yesterday, Avusa's shares were at R23.51 down 2.04% from its previous close.
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