Betsson Shareholders Initiate EGM to Elect Board and Chairman

Recent developments at Betsson AB are taking another turn after the gaming operator’s top three shareholders called for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM).

New Board and Chairman at Betsson

Published yesterday, the invitation refers to every shareholder of the company who is willing to attend the EGM that will take place at the company’s office in Stockholm on Monday, October 25, 2021, at 9 AM local time.

The EGM will be held at the request of a group of shareholders, among which are Hamberg Management Limited AB, Svea Ekonomi, the Hamberg, Boyer and Kling families and Berit Lindwall. Together, they hold more than 10% of the total outstanding shares in Betsson AB.

The group of shareholders initiating the EGM proposed an 11-point agenda, with the greatest interest being focused on points 7 to 9. These, according to the announcement, refer to the number of Board and Deputy Board members, their remuneration and the election of a Board of Directors and Chairman of the Board.

The group of shareholders initiating the EGM proposes that the Board of Directors should consist of six members without deputies, as Jan Nord, Fredrik Carlsson, Johan Lundberg and Eva Leach will stand for re-election, while the two new members will be Pontus Lindwall and Peter Hamberg. Johan Lungberg is proposed to be elected as Chairman of the Board, which will remain until the next Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Amendments to the Nomination Committee

In addition, Hamberg Management makes a proposal for amendment to the instructions for the Nomination Committee, so that the Chairman of the Board will not be part of the committee. It explained, “The Nomination Committee for the 2022 Annual General Meeting shall consist of members appointed by the three largest shareholders in terms of votes or known shareholder groups in the Company. If any of the three largest shareholders or known shareholder groups waives their right to appoint a member to the Nomination Committee, the next shareholder or known shareholder group in order of magnitude shall be given the opportunity to appoint a member to the Nomination Committee.”

The proposal to add Betsson CEO Pontus Lindwall as a member of the Board seems to hold the explanation for the EGM, as well as recent events at the company, which saw Betsson Chairman Patrick Svensk leave with immediate effect and be replaced by Johan Lundberg.

Svensk had to step down and leave the company following the manner in which he handled events around the departure of CEO Lindwall, which raised distrust among shareholders of the company.

The former chairman outlined Lindwall achieved his mission to bring the company back to winning ways and would be stepping down from the position, commencing an executive search for his replacement. However, the announcement raised suspicions that something else was happening behind the scenes.