Akehurst to the fore in Alinta battle

John Akehurst may not have rated  a mention in WA Business News’ annual ranking of Western Australia’s most influential people a year ago, but during the past six months he has played a central role in deciding the fate of Alinta, one of the state’s largest companies.

The former Woodside Petroleum managing director made a quiet return to public company life in WA when he joined the board of Alinta in May 2006.

That followed his move on to the board of Gordon Martin’s Coogee Resources, which had planned a share market float but opted instead for a private equity deal.

Mr Akehurst’s quiet life came to a sudden end in January, when Alinta disclosed that its then chairman John Poynton and then chief executive Bob Browning were working on a management buy-out.

Alinta’s directors elected Mr Akehurst as chairman and, ever since then, he has been enmeshed in what arguably has been the most complex and controversial takeover battle in WA.

Mr Akehurst and his fellow directors were forced to weigh up evenly matched offers for the company from Macquarie Bank and a consortium of Babcock & Brown and Singapore Power, while also dealing with many small shareholders who were disappointed to see control of the company move out of WA.

The most likely outcome is that Alinta shareholders will approve the sale of their company to the Babcock consortium when they meet in August.

At that point in time, Mr Akehurst may reflect on whether he wants to look for new board positions or return to the quiet life he previously enjoyed.

Mr Poynton’s working life has also experienced big changes. As well as standing down as Alinta chairman, and subsequently leaving the board, his role as a Multiplex director will soon come to an end after the construction giant negotiated a friendly takeover offer from Canadian company Brookfield.

He continues as executive chairman of Perth-based investment bank Azure Capital and is a director of Austal and Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd subsidiary, Burswood.

Former Wesfarmers managing director Michael Chaney is arguably the most influential Perth-based company director.

He is chairman of National Australia Bank, president of the Business Council of Australia and chancellor of the University of WA, and will become chairman of Woodside Petroleum at the end of July.

Former Freehills managing partner Peter Mansell continues to build an impressive suite of board positions.

In the past year, he has become chairman of West Australian Newspapers and technology company ThinkSmart, which recently completed an $85 million public share offer.

His other board roles include chairman of mining company, Zinifex, and Western Power, and a director of investment scheme manager Great Southern.

Another prolific company director is former Consolidated Minerals managing director Michael Kiernan, who chairs six listed companies including Monarch Gold, Precious Metals Australia, Territory Resources and Mineral Resources.

Mr Kiernan built a loyal following at ConsMins, which he left in June last year, and his influence is reflected in the keen investor interest in his current stable of companies.

Neil Hamilton has kept a relatively low profile over the past two years but is likely to become more visible after recently accepting a new role as chairman of Mid West iron ore miner, Mt Gibson Iron.

He has also recently become a director of Melbourne company Programmed Maintenance Services following its acquisition of Perth-based labour hire firm Integrated Group, which he had chaired.