As presaged in its FY results announcement earlier this year (see Computacenter’s year of ‘growing pains’), Computacenter is to return an extra £75m to shareholders by way of a capital reorganisation. This represents a return of 48.7p per existing ordinary share, some 10.8% of Computacenter's current market capitalisation. Management returned £74m in a similar way back in 2006. Happy campers.
Well, perhaps not all happy campers. I just noticed the results of Computacenter's AGM held last week. Usually board re-elections are rubber stamp affairs, with little shareholder dissent if things are running 'business as usual'. But I couldn't help but notice that there was a relatively high level of shareholder antipathy towards the re-election of founding shareholders Peter Ogden and Philip Hulme. Unlike all the other re-election motions, Hulme's and Ogden's attracted some 13.5m shares against and 2.4m abstentions, representing about 13% of the total votes cast. The founders control some 40% of Computacenter's stock so no chance of a palace coup; but is there a 'fifth column' movement at work?
By the way, CEO Mike Norris and CFO Tony Conophy's re-elections pretty much sailed through as so they should!