Rinehart Continues Fairfax Battle

Gina Rinehart is heating up her campaign to have a more significant role in Fairfax. She issued a letter addressed to its current chairman Roger Corbett, calling him to agree to a ‘performance milestone’ to reverse the company’s performance decline in the last five years.

In her letter, Rinehart said Fairfax’s performance is distressing for its shareholders.  The board has maintained that its dispute with Rinehart is not just about editorial control but also her pursuit to take control of the company.

The mining magnate currently has an 18.7 percent share in Fairfax. She has also been very vocal is asking for three seats from the board. The board, however, continues to rebuke her pursuits.

Rinehart has hit Corbett’s performance as chairman. She is also critical of the company’s editorial stance on many issues.

Fairfax, however, continues to remain committed with its governance principles, including its stand on editorial independence. Fairfax said if Rinehart wants full control of the company, she is free to make a bid.

Fairfax also said that its readers have made it known that they will abandon Fairfax is Rinehart succeeds in taking control of the company. Fairfax added that it has received thousands of emails and letters supporting the company’s stance.

Australia’s media industry has been struggling, no thanks to weak advertising market and the increasing consumer shift to digital products.

Just last week, Fairfax Media said it would cut as many as 1,900 jobs in the next three years to manage resources more effectively. Its competitor News, meanwhile, will be laying off about 1,000 jobs.