Old Mutual Denies Ex-CEO's Claims That Chairman Bullied Board

(Bloomberg) -- Old Mutual Ltd. said accusations by former Chief Executive Officer Peter Moyo that Chairman Trevor Manuel bullied other board members of the South African life insurer into firing him are false.

The 174-year-old insurer dismissed Moyo because of corporate-governance concerns related to his role at NMT Capital, an investment firm he co-founded and in which Old Mutual owns 20%, the company said in papers filed in the Johannesburg High Court on Tuesday. Moyo’s contract was terminated with sufficient notice and his bid to be restored to his post must be dismissed with costs, Old Mutual said.

The company in June fired Moyo after a “complete breakdown in trust and confidence” between the ex-CEO and the board over late payments by NMT of preference-share dividends to Old Mutual. Moyo, 56, in filings at the end of last month said Manuel spearheaded his departure because he had questioned his role as chairman of Rothschild & Co.’s South African unit, which had been advising the insurer on a transaction.

Manuel -- who helped oversee South Africa’s longest period of economic growth as finance minister until he stepped down in 2009 -- didn’t take part in discussions related to Rothschild and Old Mutual, the insurer said. Manuel had joined Old Mutual after his appointment at Rothschild, it said, adding that Old Mutual had hired the investment bank before Manuel became Old Mutual chairman; all of which was disclosed.

“The suggestion that he had anything whatsoever to do with the decision to terminate the applicant’s employment is simply quite ludicrous,” Old Mutual said. Moyo’s allegations that directors were under Manuel’s sway and bullied into firing him are “scurrilous and are deeply disrespectful of the experienced women and men of high integrity who make up the board,” it said.

Read more on Moyo’s legal bid to get his job back in battle with chairman

Moyo didn’t immediately answer his phone or respond to a message seeking comment on Wednesday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Roxanne Henderson in Johannesburg at rhenderson56@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Stefania Bianchi at sbianchi10@bloomberg.net, Vernon Wessels, Hilton Shone

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