Gentra Resignation?
23-Feb-98
Saturday, February 21, 1998 Gentra chief Walker quits after clashes By KATHERINE MACKLEM Real Estate Reporter The Financial Post An internal feud at EdperBrascan Corp.has resulted in the sudden resignation of the president and chief executive of the conglomerate's real estate company, Gentra Inc. James Walker left Gentra on Friday "to pursue other business interests," a company news release said. He leaves with about $4 million in company options. David Arthur, who reportedly has clashed with Walker since he took over one of Gentra's divisions in September, was named president and chief executive. Industry sources said Walker left his job after a intense board meeting that went late into the evening Thursday. One source suggested other members of the Walker management team may lose their jobs. The Walker team had been resisting EdperBrascan president Jack Cockwell's plans for the firm, another source said. It wasn't clear what those plans are, but the source said they are designed to serve Gentra's parent company, Brookfield Properties Corp., rather than Gentra itself. "The Gentra senior management team [has] been saying no to Jack's plan to use Gentra to benefit Brookfield," the source said. When asked if Walker had been pushed out, Brookfield chairman and chief executive Gordon Arnell denied the allegation. "The answer's no, it's not true," he said. "We sat down a while ago and just had a long conversation with Jim about where the company was and where he thought it was going to go. Out of those conversations just emerged an agreement between us that Jim didn't want to lead it going forward, that's all." Gentra is 45% owned by Brookfield, which in turn is 51% owned by EdperBrascan. Brookfield acquired the Gentra holding in August, when it was flipped from EdperBrascan's financial services wing, Trilon Financial Corp. Gentra was created out of the real estate assets rejected by Royal Bank of Canada in 1993 after Royal Trustco came to the brink of failure. Its mandate was to wind down the Royal Trust assets, but some initial success with real estate ventures transformed Gentra from a work out company into a real estate firm. Walker said his first plan is to take a few weeks off. "I'm leaving and feeling quite positive about my years at Gentra," he said. "Gentra continues to be a great company and it's got a very capable management team." Gentra reported yearend results Friday, with net income of $81 million (36* a share) for 1997, compared with $54 million (21*) for 1996. Its assets at Dec. 31 were $657 million, compared with $544 million a year earlier. Gentra shares (GTA/TSE) closed Friday at $5, down 25*. |
