Vertex chairman, directors resign

By PAUL PANCKHURST

Vertex chairman Jon Hartley has bailed out, citing the toll of the plastics company's initial public offering and the investigations that followed.

An announcement from the company yesterday said Wellington-based Hartley and two Australia-based directors, Simon Pillar and Barry Watts, had left the board.

Pillar is managing director of the Australia-based Pacific Equity Partners, the company that promoted the $61 million share float of Vertex last year.

Hartley, also chairman of Sky City Entertainment Group, said the IPO and inquiries including a Securities Commission probe had taken a toll and it was time "for new energy to be injected into the board".

In a report released eight days ago, the commission found the offer document for the Vertex float was misleading for failing to adequately describe some risks.

Shareholders are considering legal action.

The market surveillance panel had earlier found Vertex in breach of listing rules for delays in disclosing that its profit would not meet prospectus forecasts.

The exchange said Vertex warranted censure for the failure.

The two new directors are Humphry Rolleston and Kevin Arscott, both from Christchurch.

Hartley also welcomed the arrival of South Island businessman George Gould as a major shareholder.

Gould took a 19.9 per cent stake last month and is on the board.

The Vertex share price collapsed after a profit warning nine weeks after listing on the Stock Exchange.

Vertex shares closed unchanged yesterday at $1.44.