Wilson Htm Chief Engineers Sale To Deutsche Then Bolts For The Door

Sydney Morning Herald

Wednesday January 4, 2006

Lisa Murray

JUST three months after Deutsche Bank took a 20 per cent stake in Wilson HTM, the boutique investment house is looking for a new chief executive following the sudden resignation of Neil Schafer.

Mr Schafer, who was instrumental in putting the Deutsche deal together, said yesterday he was looking forward to a long relaxing summer before deciding what to do next. One of forty shareholders, he plans to hold on to his 2 per cent stake in the 100-year-old Brisbane broking company.

"I think the company has never been in better shape," he said yesterday.

A source close to Wilson said that Mr Schafer and executive chairman Steve Wilson had a "difficult relationship", which might have contributed to his decision to resign.

But Mr Wilson said the two men had worked well together and praised Mr Schafer for leading the company during two record years.

"While we're disappointed to see Neil go, it's not something the company can't deal with," Mr Wilson said yesterday.

The company is expected to hold a board meeting within weeks to decide on how to go about seeking a new chief executive. Mr Wilson said there were already some internal candidates.

Deutsche Bank's local chief executive, Chum Darvall, sits on the Wilson board but was unavailable for comment yesterday as he is on annual leave.

Wilson made a record net profit of $13.3 million in the year to June 30, 2005, boosted by strong earnings in its corporate finance division, a result that was more than double its $6.1 million effort the previous year.

Its strong relationship with acquisitive investment bank Babcock & Brown has helped. Wilson was one of the managers of B&B's spectacular float in October 2004 and since then has worked on the listings of some of its specialist funds.

The firm has also built a name for itself in the biotechnology sector. It did the $85 million raising for drug developer Pharmaxis and last month helped Peplin, which is developing cancer treatments based on a weed sap, raise $10 million.

Mr Schafer said there were a "couple of quite exciting things on the cards".

He would not disclose the length of the non-compete clause in his contract.

© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald

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