Full coverage: Switzerland

An EGM requested in May by disgruntled shareholders of the global bakery manufacturer will not take place until mid-September. If Aryzta can be sold, its chairman Gary McGann, an experienced boardroom veteran, has given himself as much time as he could to make the deal and exit with his head high – if not, he has promised to bow out.

Activist shareholders intent on taking over the Swiss-Irish food company’s board have strong candidates and a pessimistic reading of its accounts. Can they bring other investors along?

Gregor Greber, co-founder of Swiss investment firm Veraison, speaks exclusively to The Currency as he joins forces with disgruntled shareholders to remove all Irish directors from Aryzta’s board.

The “Spanish Warren Buffett” sparred with Aryzta Chairman Gary McGann at the Irish-Swiss food giant’s 2018 AGM and narrowly lost an €800 million shareholder vote. Francisco Paramés is on the attack again with a new ally – and little left to lose on his Aryzta investment.

Stock exchange disclosures reveal that asset manager Veraison has bought more than 7 per cent of the embattled industrial baker. Who are the Zurich-based investors picking up the cheap stock of the group behind the Cuisine de France brand?