Old Mutual feud with fired CEO risks thwarting growth ambitions
JOHANNESBURG – Old Mutual Ltd.’s homecoming may get even rockier next year as an ongoing battle with its former head risks distracting the South African insurer from handling weak economic growth and rising competition.
The firm will end 2019 still sparring with ex-Chief Executive Officer Peter Moyo. The dispute has been in court since June, about a year after Old Mutual moved its listing back to Johannesburg. That return — celebrated with Moyo and Chairman Trevor Manuel parading the city’s streets — reversed a two-decade long expansion that took the firm from London, New York and Beijing, to focus on Africa.
“They want to be pan-African and there are going to be opportunities, but I am not sure they’re going to be in the right frame of mind to capitalize on those,” said Warwick Bam, head of research at Avior Capital Markets. “That’s what everyone is concerned about — the internal disruption.”
Source: iol.co.za
