Paul Doolan, a partner at Barkus Doolan Winning, is one of Australia’s most prominent family lawyers. He declined to comment on any specific case but offered the following observation on voting rights in a public company when there is enormous wealth at stake and a couple goes through a separation or divorce.

“My experience is that in cases of this magnitude, there is a common interest between parties to preserve wealth because their wealth is often tied up in a common asset going forward, being shares in a publicly listed entity. The assertion generally on both sides then is that both the appearance and reality of stability is all important, both for general shareholders and also for the parties themselves because, obviously, their wealth is intrinsically tied to that particular asset.

“It’s not uncommon to see agreements that are reached, and subject to them complying with the law, both regulatory and Corporations Act requirements, whereby voting rights or proxy rights are granted as part of the deal. It might be that one party has the right to the underlying capital and dividend stream, but subject to all laws being complied with, that they eventually cede their voting rights for a period of time, to ensure that market stability. Because that’s really paramount to their wealth.”

If that is the case in the Forrest’s separation, then it will mean that Nicola Forrest is unlikely to exert any influence at Fortescue, even if some experts believe there is an opportunity there for board renewal.

Mark Barnaba, a former investment banker, has been on the Fortescue board for 13½ years. He has been Fortescue’s lead independent director since November 2014, and its deputy chair for almost six years. Institutional Shareholders Services Australia and New Zealand does not classify a director as independent after 12 years on a board.

Barnaba, who is also on the Reserve Bank board, is also one of Australia’s best paid directors. Last year, he took home $1.23 million as Fortescue’s deputy chair.

Wesfarmers and Woodside are comparable companies in size, in terms of market capitalisation, to Fortescue. Last year, Wesfarmer’s chairman Michael Chaney’s compensation was $851,636, while Woodside chairman Richard Goyder’s was $807,438.

The Fortescue board has dealt with several sensitive matters recently, including the Forrests’ separation and the investigation of an anonymous complaint concerning the behaviour of Andrew Forrest, the company’s executive chairman.

The board used law firm Seyfarth Shaw to investigate the claims, which it did not reveal. Last month, the board said the investigation had concluded that none of the matters in the letter were substantiated, and that there were no adverse findings.

Fortescue said the report would remain confidential, and since then, no major Fortescue shareholder has asked for it to be released. There may be a few questions at the company’s annual meeting in November.

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