The atmosphere in the boardroom was so tense it could be cut with a knife. Edward reviewed the agenda he‘d prepared and waited for Ogbonna to pass it out to the other ten people in the room. There were Benibo and Mrs. Olayomi; the group directors for Finance, Strategy, Operations and Communication as well as the managers of the four arms of the company. The non-executive directors were absent, but Edward planned to have them at the next meeting in a few days when more plans would have been drawn up. He called the meeting to order.
“How is everyone this morning?” He looked towards those who had stayed late with him last night, andthey all nodded with the others. It was time to get down to the nitty-gritty.
“Good. We‘re going to stick with the agenda and get the updates first.” He continued, “I sent out a request to the necessary people this morning. Communications, what is the plan?”
Sola Amana joined Bestman two years ago but had several years experience in business communication and came highly recommended. “We earlier had a couple of enquiries from the press, and we have more coming in. You would have noticed the public announcement of the takeover bid in today‘s business headlines,”
Everyone nodded and she continued, “Fortunately we have good public relations and accessibility. We‘re in a position of strength.”
“Does that help if our rivals are sending out messages too?”
“Our acquirers, as things stand, are an unknown entity; they are only listed in the bid as a private consortium. My team already has contacts in the press. We can release some generic comments; I can make them up as this meeting goes along. We need a single spokesperson to ensure that a consistent message is conveyed, and I suggest Edward…”
“Not yet,” It was Benibo. “I think it may give a sense of panic if Edward comes out now. Maybe you or one of us lawyers could play the part of the public face. Only if it progresses further will Edward then need to come into the picture. Using him now may upset the market flow as shareholders bail out.”
“But don‘t you think Edward as the front man would show shareholders that we take their interests seriously?” It was the Director of Strategy, Mr. Ajibola. Most of those present nodded.
Edward looked around the table and answered, “I‘ll be the face of the process with you Sola and Benibo as back-ups. I must also sign off on any press statement. Is there anything else?”