Thirteen months after it first proposed the creation of a controversial black economic empowerment (BEE) scheme, Sovereign Foods has told shareholders it has decided to abandon the plan. The announcement was included in the interim results, which were released on Wednesday. They showed the devastating effect of the drought and increased imports on the local poultry industry with the group reporting a headline loss of 48.8c per share. The decision to abandon the BEE scheme was inevitable given that a hostile shareholder, Country Bird Holdings (CBH), had built up a 34.1% stake that would block the implementation of any corporate action needing a special resolution. A special resolution requires the support of at least 75% of shareholders. CBH has been forced by the Takeover Regulation Panel to suspend any further moves on Sovereign for 10 months. The proposed scheme, which would have seen key members of management participate in a controlling block of shares, sparked a backlash by act...
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