A candidate for the board of rural servicing company PGG Wrightson says he is standing up for the rights of small shareholders who own 50,000 shares or less.
Christchurch businessman John Calvin said with the company needing to recapitalise and the possibility of a new cornerstone shareholder, share value would be further diluted.
"Over this past year, shareholders have suffered unprecedented wealth destruction, far greater than shareholders of well run public companies have sustained during the downturn in national and international equity markets," he said.
But Mr Calvin faces an uphill battle to get elected, having already been told by the PGG Wrightson board it did not support his nomination and with six entities owning more than 50% of shares.
Pyne Gould Corporation has two blocks of 16.4% and 4.28%, as does Rural Portfolio Investments with 13.98% and 13.5%.
The company's problems stem from high debt levels through acquisitions but compounded by reduced farmer spending.
Mr Calvin has a background in agriculture, retailing, construction and property development, and bought his PGGW shares at $1.72, saw them increase to $3 and then collapse to around 63c now.
He believed shareholders would see that value erode to less than 50c due to the company's debt levels and the board not adhering to the fundamentals of structure and cashflow.
"Problems that need addressing with some urgency include client and supplier confidence and support, merchandising, brand and category management . . . and independent governance."
Mr Calvin said he believed he had the support of small shareholders who owned 23% of the company.
The annual meeting is in Auckland on October 29.
