Shares of Rogers Communications Inc. suffered their worst decline since the pandemic market crash of 2020 after a weekend of open hostilities within the Rogers family left it unclear who’s in control of the board, reports Bloomberg.
Canada’s largest wireless firm fell 5.8% to C$56.55 after Edward Rogers, the only son of late founder Ted Rogers, claimed he’s the chairman and said he’ll try to get a Canadian court to agree that he has the right to choose the 14-person board.
The company and other members of the family -- including his mother, Loretta Rogers -- say Edward’s new board is illegitimate and that former AT&T executive John MacDonald is still chairman.
A court filing by Edward Rogers is likely to happen this week, according to people familiar with the matter. As chairman of a family trust that controls about 97% of the voting shares in Rogers Communications, Edward Rogers has more voting power than other members of his family.
Until the matter is decided, the fate of Chief Executive Officer Joe Natale and other senior executives hangs in the balance. Edward Rogers tried to replace Natale last month but was blocked by directors including his mother and two of his sisters, Melinda Rogers-Hixon and Martha Rogers.
In a sign of how nasty the family battle has become, Martha Rogers continued to taunt her brother on Twitter. She accused Edward Rogers of “perpetual tantrums when he doesn’t get his way” and said his assertion that he’s now the chairman of Rogers Communications “should be taken as seriously as if he appointed himself the King of England.”
Walied Soliman, the lawyer representing Melinda Rogers-Hixon in the case, suggested that the family could resolve the matter on its own. “I think ultimately this family, like other families, will resolve this at the kitchen table,” he said.
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