[imagesource: Freddy Mavunda / Business Day]

All is not well at CNA, with the 125-year-old stationery group embroiled in an ugly battle for survival.

Two weeks ago, we reported on the group’s mounting debt, as well as the ongoing power struggle between top executives.

At the centre of it all is former CEO Benjamin Trisk, who has since been removed as a director, following a meeting yesterday.

Trisk, who owns 30% of the company, is going down swinging, and claims his removal was “unlawful”.

He issued a statement yesterday, reports TimesLIVE, detailing his version of events from that meeting:

[He said that] on Friday he “attended a CNA operations shareholders’ meeting”, where the rest of the management team, “acting as judge and accusers”, tabled a “resolution to remove me as a director of CNA operations”.

“Notwithstanding that I made representations opposing such resolution, such is the vendetta against me, that the resolution was passed purporting to remove me as director of CNA operations, which removal was unlawful,” said Trisk.

Without referring specifically to them, he said the “charges against me are preposterous and they continue to make spurious allegations that are unsupported by evidence”.

Trisk says he intends to take the fight to court, where he will try and have the sale of the other 70% of the company’s shares set aside.

JSE-listed investment group Astoria had sold its 70% interest to the other members of CNA’s management team, which Trisk claims was also unlawful.

This is not the first time Trisk has been involved in an acrimonious business split

[CNA says] its problems were worsened by the shadow cast by the legal battle between Trisk and his former employer, Exclusive Books, which became public knowledge six weeks ago…

Trisk left Exclusive Books in March 2018 after incurring unauthorised personal expenses, according to court documents.

He was subject to a disciplinary inquiry, but Exclusive Books reached a settlement agreement with him whereby he resigned and was paid R2.4m, in addition to having his loan account for unauthorised expenditure written off. He lost a subsequent legal battle against Exclusive Books over its refusal to help him obtain tax clearance.

With that past dispute now out in the open, and CNA’s financial woes deepening, creditors and funders are believed to have pushed for Trisk’s removal.

If you’re one of the many suppliers waiting to be paid, or a landlord of a CNA outlet yet to pay its rent, this is all rather worrying.

125 years is one helluva run, but you get the feeling a company selling stationery may be on its last legs.

[source:timeslive]