It probably wasn't the send off that Cabcharge's now retired chairman, Russell Balding, was hoping for.
Thursday's shareholder meeting almost left it with the bare minimum three directors required by a public company after veteran Cabcharger Donn McMichael was almost voted off the board with more than 45 per cent of the votes against his reappointment.
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This was the guy who Balding asked to hang around another 12 months because his departure would mean there were no directors left with more than two years experience.
The wheels started to fall off before the former ABC boss could even start his victory lap. Â
![Illustration: John Shakespeare](/web/20161127103435im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/x/0/e/e/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsvubq.png/1480028262131.jpg)
The day before the AGM, Balding lost one of the bright new directors who epitomised the corporate culture revolution he had instigated at Cabcharge.Â
Nothing was offered at the meeting to explain why Stephen Stanley resigned – effective immediately – barely one hour after Rick Millen was appointed Balding's replacement as chairman.Â
The announcement of Millen's promotion included the appointment of Stanley to the audit and risk committee.Â
As the Australian Shareholders' Association pointed out to CBD, what is particularly irksome about the whole episode is that Stanley managed to buy up 80,000 shares since his appointment to the board. McMichael has 16,030 shares after 20 years.   Â
![Departing Cabcharge chairman Russell Balding.](/web/20161127103435im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/1/s/x/2/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsvubq.png/1479996255883.jpg)
Cyclical stock
You've seen the hair-raising videos, now you can buy the shares.Â
Cycliq – think GoPro for your avid cyclists – opens for business on the sharemarket this Friday after raising up to $5 million to help fund more sales of its cameras.
This means more video capturing the sort of cycling mishaps that populate YouTube videos showing what happens when cyclists meet cars, dogs, cows and other cyclists. All in high-definition video you can a share with your friends on social media. Â
And that's good news for Cycliq, too.Â
"Cycliq's products capture a constant flow of organic content which is repurposed and used as marketing material," it told potential investors in one of its presentations.Â
It is also a handy safety tool for bike riders, claim founders Andrew Hagen and Kingsley Fiegert.
"Many of our users claim it's like there's someone else with you on the ride, looking out for you," Hagen told Fairfax Media last year when the company started making a name for itself.
"If something does happen to you, you've got the hard evidence there and you can show the police," he said.
"Prior to Fly6, all cyclists had was anecdotal evidence."Â
Cycliq has had its own bumps to contend with off-road. Like the securities regulator ASIC putting a clamp on its prospectus after expressing concerns about disclosures by the company.Â
Cycliq will be entering the public domain this Friday via a backdoor listing through Voyager Global – an oil and gas explorer that has lost its taste for carbon fuels.
Investors include a rather prominent fundie CBD cannot name, but we can say he is an avid cyclist and can find his way around a polo paddock as well. Â
Stock layby
One of the more interesting filings this week was by a certain Harvey Norman director, David Matthew Ackery.Â
He was the guy delivered a big protest vote against his re-election to the retailer's board last week with a 25 per cent vote against it by investors who were demanding fresh blood.
Keep in mind that Gerry Harvey – and the shares of his late co-founder Ian Norman – would have been voted for Ackery, which means 45 per cent of the company's stock was backing his reappointment before Ackery got to the starter's gate.
This means a lot of independent shareholders were demanding fresh blood.Â
So, it is just as well that it was the day after the meeting that Ackery sold off 220,000 shares for a return of $990,000 in an on-market trade.Â
It appears that Ackery has used his Harvey Norman stock, 658,619 of them, as security against a loan from ANZ Private Global Wealth.Â
A rather garbled ASX notice informed the market thus: "Loan facility agreement between Mr Ackery and ANZ Private Global Wealth which includes put and call options exercisable if the company's share price falls below $2.3422 or exceeds $5.6212."Â
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Got a tip? ckruger@fairfaxmedia.com.au
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