The board of Granada has blocked the appointment of Michael Green as chairman of the newly merged ITV following overwhelming pressure from institutional shareholders for the Carlton boss to resign by noon today (see Carlton Defies Shareholders Over Calls To Oust Green).
Granada held an emergency board meeting last night and decided that an independent non-executive chairman should be found for the single ITV company that will result from the planned £4.2 billion merger of Carlton and Granada (see
ITV Cleared To Merge With Sales Houses Intact).
The broadcaster said in a statement this morning: “The board of Granada has given careful consideration to the views of shareholders and decided that their interests will be best served by the appointment of a new chairman from outside the enlarged ITV plc.”
The move has made Green’s position as chairman designate increasingly untenable and he now looks set to be forced out amid continued pressure from the coalition of city institutions led by Anthony Bolton of Fidelity.
It is understood that the group, which represents more than a third of the combined ITV’s shareholders, has suggested that the chairman of the merged ITV company should be John Nelson, the former Lazards and Credit Suisse investment banker.
Sir Brian Pitman, senior non-executive director and advisor for Morgan Stanley, has also been linked with the position. However, it is still not clear whether either candidate would be acceptable.
Carlton has vowed to stand by its chairman and claims that a radical change in management could threaten its planned merger with Granada. The broadcaster has also attempted to placate the angry shareholders by offering a compromise that would see Green go part time after a year at the head of the merged company.
However, it is understood that the plot to remove Green has been planned for several months by shareholders, who have become increasingly disillusioned with Green’s management style and his handling of the ITV Digital debacle (see ITV Digital Creditors Lose More Than £1 Billion).
