Investor to launch legal action after Yorkshire Post owner’s pre-pack
The largest investor in Johnston Press is to launch legal action, accusing the board of directors of “corporate theft” of the publishing group.
Christen Ager-Hanssen held a 25% stake in Johnston Press but claims to have not been consulted in the weekend deal which saw the group be put through a pre-pack administration and leave behind its defined benefit pension scheme.
Johnston Press publishes hundreds of newspapers and websites, including the Yorkshire Post, Scotsman and the i, and has been struggling with its debts for a number of years.
It had launched a formal sale process in June but on Friday night called an abrupt and unexpected end to it. Instead it revealed plans for a new company, JPI Media, which is owned by Johnston Press’s bondholders, to take control.
In a series of furious statements Ager-Hanssen revealed his investment firm, Custos, will be forming a Johnston Press shareholders’ and pensioners action group.
He plans to sue the board of directors and JPI Media.
“Johnston Press was never really insolvent and those jobs were never really in danger,” said Ager-Hanssen.
“[T]hroughout the formal sale process which the Board instigated on 11 October, we have had no dialogue with the Board as we refused to enter into a sham formal sale process on their terms, terms which would have restricted us from increasing our stake in the market, something which we wanted to do as public declaration of our belief in the business and that we could help repay/refinance the bond.”
He accused the board of “disgracefully colluding with bondholders” and described the pre-pack as “not so much a corporate rescue as a blatant pre-planned corporate theft by bondholders”.
Johnston Press publishes more than 200 local and regional titles and dates back 250 years.
The pre-pack deal is expected to bring forward £35m of investment to the business, which will now be taken back into private hands.
Dear Yorkshire, to those offering help today here’s what you need to do: simply buy a paper. That’s absolutely the one thing you can do that will help. Then tell your friends how good it is. Thank you once again.
— James Mitchinson (@JayMitchinson) November 17, 2018
Johnston Press chief executive David King will lead the new business. In a statement the company said “most staff” will keep their jobs.
John Ensall, director of JPIMedia, said: “In the absence of another financial solution being available for the business, we are pleased to have reached this agreement to acquire Johnston Press, to protect the value of the business, preserve jobs and allow for the uninterrupted publication of its websites and newspapers.”
