Yeo, 78, who has been on CDL’s board for 16 years, has notified the board that July 31 will be his last day, Bloomberg reported, citing a stock exchange filing on Tuesday.
His exit as a non-independent, non-executive director follows months of tension at the property group that was sparked by a public clash between the chairman and his son.
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Philip Yeo, non-independent and non-executive director at City Developments Limited. Photo courtesy of the company |
In late February, Leng Beng filed a lawsuit against his son Sherman, alleging that he had bypassed the firm’s nomination committee to appoint two directors without proper vetting and implemented major changes to board committees and CDL’s governance, according to Channel News Asia.
The conflict quickly escalated, with Sherman publicly blaming his father’s long-time adviser, Catherine Wu, and Leng Beng pointing to what he called a “long series of missteps” by his son that had hurt the company’s share price.
At the time, Yeo attempted to defuse tensions and urged Sherman and other directors to shift their focus toward addressing a S$1.9 billion (US$1.48 billion) loss that stemmed from CDL’s largest investment in China, a deal led by Sherman in 2019.
The lawsuit was suddenly dropped in March.
At the firm’s annual general meeting in April, Yeo called on shareholders to vote against the reappointment of four directors, including the new appointees at the center of the February dispute, The Business Times reported.
His pointed remark that directors should be chosen “unanimously, not by majority bullying” was met with loud applause from shareholders, highlighting the lingering rift within the company even after the lawsuit was dropped.
Nonetheless, CDL’s Tuesday filing noted that there were no unresolved disagreements on key matters between Yeo and the rest of the board.
In an effort to reduce debt and rebuild investor confidence, CDL announced in June that it would sell its 50.1% stake in the South Beach mixed-use development to joint venture partner IOI Properties Group for S$834.2 million.
Earlier this month, its hospitality arm, Millennium Hotels and Resorts, teamed up with Germany’s Maritim Hotels to introduce a cross-brand loyalty program.
But some analysts remained unconvinced, with several saying that CDL has yet to fully resolve lingering concerns over the recent governance issues, referring to the public spat, as cited by The Straits Times.
