Johnston Press Share Discussion Threads

[dazzaa] 20/11/2017 19:46

Need we be worried ?

[stdyeddy] 15/11/2017 13:49

No news is what we're used to. SNAFU as they used to say in the 1940s.

[mitch74] 15/11/2017 13:24

Yes: quiet after the initial Nordic onslaught. No sign of the correctly executed notice? I'd like to think that the Viking is locked away with his financiers finalising the details around the purchase of the bonds and forming a strategy to clear away the board and set JP back on course.

[dazzaa] 15/11/2017 10:39

No news is .......Boring !

[sharesoc] 13/11/2017 20:21

There is a blog post on Johnston Press available to read here:

[jazzyjeffnett] 10/11/2017 01:33

hxxps://www.metro.se/ circulation 550,000 1,100,000 with website per day. population of Sweden is 10,000,000. this could be the future. dyor

[mitch74] 09/11/2017 09:55

From the Tory-G yesterday

Johnston Press coup leader warns 'winter is coming' after publisher rejects call for shareholder vote

An attempted coup at Johnston Press has been delayed after the newspaper publisher said the activist investor leading it had made technical errors that made his call for a shareholder meeting "invalid".

Johnston Press said it will put Christen Ager-Hanssen's proposal to replace its chairman with the former First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, to a vote if it receives a valid demand.

It is understood that Mr Ager-Hanssen's attempt to trigger a shareholder meeting was rejected because his letter to the board was signed by his investment vehicle, Custos. His 20pc stake in Johnston Press is held via a nominee, however.

The Norwegian was undeterred by the hurdle and said he will re-submit his requisition letter this week.

He said: "Winter is coming, and the the board of Johnston Press are still sunbathing, sipping pina coladas and tripping over their flip-flops on the beach."

The comment was a riposte to criticism of his coup attempt by a source close to Johnston Press, who claimed he had "more flip-flops than a beach shop" in his plans to revive the struggling publisher, which is behind the i, the Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post.

As well as Mr Salmond, Mr Ager-Hanssen aims to install the veteran newspaper executive Steve Auckland as a non-executive director to help deliver a radical shake-up of the company.

Johnston Press is struggling with tumbling print circulation and advertising revenues from its stable of around 200 local newspapers. It has been attempting to agree a restructuring plan with the holders of its £220m bonds.

The debt is due for repayment in 2019 and the company will not be able to refinance without a dramatic turnaround in its business. The board has been focused on a potential debt-for-equity swap, while Mr Ager-Hanssen believes that he can restore Johnston Press to growth and refinance the full sum on a lower interest rate.

[stdyeddy] 09/11/2017 00:42

Some good content being posted here. Salmond giving a good account of himself in that sky interview and not rising to the narrowly-focused bait from the interviewer (who kept banging on about the Scotsman). However, Salmond's qualification for running a company, as he sees it, is his experience 'running a country'. That's rather less convincing. I liked his measured response overall though. I've not seen anything from Camilla - she likes to keep her head well below the parapet, like all of the 'feesuckers'.

Amongst other things, Salmond seemed to be emphasising that the shareholders will decide the outcome of the forthcoming boardroom battle (as they should); sounds like they've done the thing that bernie couldn't and actually got the other shareholders onside. I've got to say I like the sound of his cheerleading; whether he, Auckland and the Viking can match it with good business policy remains to be seen. Does anyone here have facts and figures on the scandi metro and it's success (or otherwise) under the viking's influence?

[mitch74] 08/11/2017 20:41

More from the Viking in the Torygraph: WINTER IS COMING FOR THE JPR BOARD! It sounds as though the notice for the EGM was signed by Custos as opposed to the nominee who actually holds the Viking’s shares. Expect that the properly executed notice will be sent by now or very shortly. Viking surely must have canvassed other shareholders pre-vote?

[okdude] 08/11/2017 20:01

Gloves are off ... brilliant publicity for JPR SKY NEWS INTERVIEW ALL 5 minutes very interesting veiwing and speaks openly about the changes ahead

[dazzaa] 08/11/2017 19:42

Yep a good synopsis and brings home the poison pill as an act of self preservation rather than a shrewd move to enhance shareholder rights.

[sharesoc] 08/11/2017 18:45

There is a blog post on Johnston Press available here:

[mitch74] 08/11/2017 12:48

Surprising as it appears as though the goons at JPR employ some pretty high-end lawyers (Ashurst): amusing that a silver-circle firm would miss something like this assuming they saw it. Probably someone internal at JPR missed it. No matter, we know that they are complete amateurs and there will be an EGM. Come on Auckland/Viking/Jowly Scotsman!

[stdyeddy] 08/11/2017 12:23

Consistently amateurish and stupid. No one checks anything.

[mitch74] 08/11/2017 11:30

If the goons currently at JP are correct then this appears to be no more than a minor administrative error. They should be able to fix this up pretty quickly and, apart from being a little embarrassing, changes very little. Of course the goons at JP might be wrong in which case the notice is valid and EGM here we come. It does indicate that the incumbents are going to take every point in their battle with the Viking but this is not really surprising given the Viking wants blood. I saw him quoted as saying that he will have his EGM even if he has to go through the motions multiple times.

[dazzaa] 08/11/2017 10:43

"But Edinburgh-based Johnston, which also owns the i newspaper and some 200 local titles, said the request for an extraordinary general meeting was invalid, claiming the wrong person signed the paperwork".

Well ?

[ep0ch] 08/11/2017 08:35

Invalid requisition notice

hxxp://www.insider.co.uk/news/johnston-press-rejects-custos-groups-11485051

[wooster4] 07/11/2017 17:54

I'm sure our large new investors could tell you LC - i would suggest that they know rather more than you.

[lord c.] 07/11/2017 14:55

Can someone please tell me where the £220m is coming from and what will it be secured against? Current value of the empire is, to put it kindly, questionable as are future earnings.

Puzzled Lord C.

[stdyeddy] 07/11/2017 14:14

Indeed dazz! What general weygand called the battle of cost-cuts is over (said with jowls flopping and ever so slight slurring). The battle for rebuilding is about to begin. Cue martial music and a tour of the enemy's medium-range bombers. Am so excited. Cue the pointer sisters!

[dazzaa] 07/11/2017 13:13

Just giving a thought as to who might add their votes to the revolution as there has been little chatter to give us direction.

Can we presume that it will have the support of CA,Pan,Majedie and others, if it does, sound job done and one can reasonably assume the Viking has tested his support levels.

However you look at it, this will turn out to be the supreme test of confidence for the Board especially for AH and Camilla this is their squeaky bum time and I hope to enjoy the moment, as they say it's not the end, It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the beginning of the beginning. Sorry WC.

[tyranosaurus] 07/11/2017 08:36

So 2 new directors want to join the board but resolution to get rid of all directors appointed after 06/11/17.
What a farce.

[baticle] 07/11/2017 07:14

RNS out .....Aye Aye....here we go again !