Chapter 112
After the meeting at the Promontory Club two weeks earlier, Vittorio Gallazone had spoken to his directors in Naples. They had approved an offer of seven hundred and forty million pounds for Plantation, whether the company was solvent or not.
Gallazone had decided to wait. He’d only hinted at an offer to Grenville and Black but hadn’t understood the implications of the Order in the Companies Court. It was unclear whether Plantation was still in play, following the departure of Waring. Gallazone couldn’t tell who was controlling the company. Was it Black and Grenville, as they pretended ? Or was it Robert Ashby, the majority shareholder ? Or was it someone else ?
Black had counselled patience to Gallazone. Ashby would be quietly removed. He was the only obstacle preventing Specifica from taking over Plantation. Once he was gone, they could agree a price.
At the same time, Grenville had intimated to Weber of ADV that the Italians were ready to bid almost a billion pounds. So what if there was a difference of over two hundred million from Specifica’s real bid – who was counting ? And who was to know anyway ? This led Weber to alert his own directors in Düsseldorf of a counter-bid. In turn, they’d decided that nothing should be done until the dust had settled and it was possible to see whether Plantation would survive all of the remaining claims.
In this way, both Specifica and ADV were poised for an outcome. Occasionally, rumours circulated in the press and in the Cube at the LRE that Plantation had been sold. This frustrated and antagonised the rival bidders as they didn’t know who to believe. It also annoyed Grenville and Black who had the prospect of a billion pounds almost within their grasp. The negotiations were in a permanently fragile state. One false move and the plunder might evaporate. Yet, they might not have long to wait. The Victor 7 claim was to be heard in New York in a few weeks. If Plantation avoided the American sword of Damocles hanging over it, there was the arbitration in the Caspian claim which would start a month later. Also, while Ashby was away, the Seguros Amazonas claim had been active in the Florida courts. And in Johannesburg and Pretoria, the steel company, NESC had been petitioning the South African government to honour its payment but had only encountered silence.
Meanwhile, at the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders, Ashby was surprised to see many of Plantation’s former employees and directors who were all well known to him and who had worked at the company when he was growing up. It was no secret that they were angry at having lost their jobs, courtesy of Nigel Black and his confederates from Stirling. They’d felt let down by Jim Ashby who had failed to defend them. Although they’d been given shares in Plantation over the years, for many, these were little consolation. Ashby listened as they complained that Plantation was on the rocks and that their shares were probably worthless.
Before the meeting started, he tried to reassure them that all would come right. One or two were furious at the way they’d been treated and singled out Nigel Black as the culprit.
“If he hadn’t joined us, Plantation wouldn’t be in this mess,” said one of the former directors whose place had been given to a Stirling appointee.
“That’s why we’re here today – to remedy things,” said Ashby.
Plantation A Legal Thriller Page 112