Ex-boss of MEC refutes claim he is on a ‘personal vendetta’ to remove directors

Energy investor MEC Resources has accused an ex-managing director of taking another punt at toppling the board.

In an announcement published on its website, the company (ASX:MMR) named David Breeze — a director of MEC from April 2005 and managing director until the termination of his consultancy agreement in November 2016 — as the person behind a push to have the current directors removed.

“It’s quite untrue and the publication by MEC is false,” Mr Breeze told Stockhead on Wednesday.

MEC said Albert Grinceri, a representative of AVCO Pty Ltd and one of the companies allegedly involved in the call for a meeting to vote out the directors, had told the company Mr Breeze was behind it and that he had a “personal vendetta”.

“Albert Grinceri has already written to the company and advised them that the publication is false and to ask them immediately to take it down,” Mr Breeze said.

• Catch up with the latest ASX small cap news
• Follow us on Facebook or Twitter
• Discuss small cap news in our Facebook group
• Subscribe to our daily newsletter

In an email sent to MEC and seen by Stockhead, Mr Grinceri said the claim was a “blatant lie”.

“In my discussions with your director Deborah Ambroseeni [sic], I did not make such statements,” Mr Grinceri said. “Although it appears she has made this assumption, when suggesting to her: ‘the board should make a conciliatory approach to David Breeze’.”

Mr Grinceri believes the current board should “either resign or be forcibly removed”.

But Ms Ambrosini told Stockhead Mr Grinceri did make those comments to her.

“I had the phone call with him and I have notes to prove it was true,” she said. “It’s 100 per cent accurate I can assure you of that.”

A “shareholder interest group” recently raised its stake in MEC to 5.15 per cent.

MEC corporate development manager Toby Foster confirmed to Stockhead that it is the same group of shareholders pushing for the removal of the directors.

“The name that isn’t on that group is David Breeze, the former managing director and the entities that he controls being Grandbridge Ltd and Trandcorp, his personal company, and superfunds that also hold a significant interest in the company,” he said.

“We’re very confident that he is associated with this purported substantial shareholder interest group and is acting in concert with them in the action against the company.”

Mr Breeze told Stockhead he has reported MEC to the ASX and Australian Securities Investments Commission.

The former boss is currently facing legal action by MEC in the Supreme Court of Western Australia for allegedly failing to return company property following his termination.

Mr Breeze has filed a counterclaim for $107,249.

MEC said Mr Breeze tried in December 2016 to have the directors removed, but 85 per cent of shareholders voted against the move.

Mr Breeze is currently an executive director of investment firm Grandbridge Ltd, which along with its major shareholder Trandcorp, was responsible for the previous push to have four of the five directors removed.

Grandbridge claimed at the time that the directors were “not fit to act as company directors” and that they may have breached their duties.

Mr Breeze is also the managing director of BPH Energy, which was recently rumoured to be plotting a takeover of MEC.

MEC has an 8.3 per cent stake in BPH, which has investments in biotechnology and resources, including a 27 per cent interest in oil and gas explorer Advent Energy.

MEC has been involved in a number of legal disputes with Grandbridge and BPH.