MADRID (Reuters) – Europe’s largest mobile phone tower operator Cellnex said on Tuesday two of its board members have resigned following pressure on the company’s management from activist fund TCI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Former board chairman Bertrand Boudewijn Kan, and Leonard Peter Shore, both independent directors, quit, citing “irreconcilable differences with the board”, with immediate effect, the Spanish company said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The removal of both Kan and Shore had been requested on March, 23, by Christopher Hohn who runs activist fund TCI and argued the search for a new Cellnex CEO under way since late 2022 had “been mishandled by the board and resulted in insufficient progress”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cellnex announced last week Kan was stepping down as non-executive chairman but remaining a board member. He was substituted by board member Anne Bouverot as non-executive chair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TCI has become Cellnex’s largest shareholder with a 9% stake, including 5.9% in derivatives, surpassing Italian group Edizione.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his letter, Hohn requested that TCI’s representative Jonathan Amouyal to be included in the board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In its Tuesday statement, Cellnex did not say who would replace the outgoing board members.<\/p>\n