Hong Kong’s billionaire Cheng family seeks to oust Giordano CEO Peter Lau after failed buyout
- The family of Henry Cheng, Hong Kong’s third-richest person, is apparel retailer Giordano’s biggest shareholder with a stake of about 24.1 per cent
- The family wants to replace CEO Peter Lau with Colin Currie and also appoint two of Henry’s children, Sonia and Christopher, as non-executive directors
Giordano’s shares fell as much as 7.4 per cent on Tuesday morning, the most in almost a month, before closing 3.9 per cent lower at HK$1.96.
The family of Henry Cheng Kar-shun, Giordano’s top shareholder with a stake of about 24.1 per cent, wants to appoint Colin Currie, whose previous roles include China managing director of Adidas, to the job, according to a stock exchange filing on Monday.
They also want to appoint two of Henry’s children, Sonia and Christopher, as non-executive directors of the board. The Giordano board is seeking legal advice on appropriate follow-up actions, the firm said.
Giordano has long been in the Cheng family’s sights. In 2022, they offered to buy the remaining shares of the retailer for a maximum cash consideration of HK$2.56 billion (US$327 million), but the deal failed when less than half of the company’s shareholders approved it.
