Fowl play

It’s true, turkeys really do vote for Christmas. The turkeys in question are the hedge fund managers at Interserve’s largest shareholder, Coltrane. Asked last Friday to vote on a rescue package that would leave shareholders with just 5% of the company, Coltrane declared it would be damned if it was going to put up with such a deal and in effect voted for Interserve to go into administration, wiping out share value altogether – a mystifying act of self-impoverishment. According to Interserve, the pre-pack involves a deleveraging on “substantially” the same terms as the plan that was voted against at the meeting. So it was a vote the company couldn’t entirely lose (though it remains in deep doo-doo), whereas some say Coltrane chose to cut off its nose to spite its face. The 16,000 small shareholders who have lost their investment might have something to say about Coltrane’s game of chicken.

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