Struggling stationery group CNA has removed Benjamin Trisk as a director from its operations after a meeting on Monday, according to a statement from the company’s former CEO.
On Friday, Trisk told Business Times that the meeting to “discuss a resolution removing me from the board of CNA operations” had been adjourned until this week.
On Monday, Trisk issued a statement saying that on Friday he “attended a CNA operations shareholders’ meeting”, where the rest of the management team, “acting as judge and accusers”, tabled a “resolution to remove me as a director of CNA operations”.
“Notwithstanding that I made representations opposing such resolution, such is the vendetta against me, that the resolution was passed purporting to remove me as director of CNA operations, which removal was unlawful,” said Trisk.
Without referring specifically to them, he said the “charges against me are preposterous and they continue to make spurious allegations that are unsupported by evidence”.
He said he would now go to court “to secure various declarators as to my rights (and theirs), as well as seeking various interdictory relief, specifically including, but not limited to, having the aforementioned acquisition of CNA’s shares (from Astoria by the rest of CNA management) set aside”.
Trisk was referring to JSE-listed investment group Astoria selling its 70% interest to the rest of the management team, including CNA operations director Rob Shortt, CFO Nazir Patel and director of procurement Olinka Nell.
The idea that hotly contested and settled allegations against me are problematic for funders is nonsensical.
— Benjamin Trisk
Trisk, who holds the remaining 30% of CNA, said he and his legal team believed the share purchase from Astoria by the rest of the management team was “unlawful” and carried consequences for any funding the group was trying to negotiate.
Shortt said on Friday that as far as he was concerned, the deal with Astoria was above board.
He declined to comment on Monday’s meeting with Trisk.
The struggling stationery group has been embroiled in a public battle with Trisk about its future direction. The fight between the former CEO and the rest of CNA’s management team erupted publicly about two weeks ago when Business Day reported that the management team was at loggerheads with Trisk after he approached business rescue practitioners without their consent.
Astoria, with Trisk, bought CNA from Edcon in February last year for, effectively, R1 and subsequently contributed further capital to pay for transaction costs.
The group, whose landlords and suppliers have experienced delays in payments from the stationer, has openly said it is facing major financial problems. It also says its problems were worsened by the shadow cast by the legal battle between Trisk and his former employer, Exclusive Books, which became public knowledge six weeks ago.
Trisk said on Friday the “idea that hotly contested and settled allegations against me are problematic for funders is nonsensical”.
Trisk left Exclusive Books in March 2018 after incurring unauthorised personal expenses, according to court documents.
He was subject to a disciplinary inquiry, but Exclusive Books reached a settlement agreement with him whereby he resigned and was paid R2.4m, in addition to having his loan account for unauthorised expenditure written off. He lost a subsequent legal battle against Exclusive Books over its refusal to help him obtain tax clearance.
After CNA received negative feedback about this from funders and creditors, members of its management team held a meeting with Trisk on April 19, where they say he offered to resign. CNA has told him it has accepted his resignation from that date.
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