Sherman responded that the dispute concerned the conduct of Leng Beng’s former personal assistant, Catherine Wu. At the time, Wu was an adviser to CDL’s hotel subsidiary, Millennium & Copthorne (M&C), but was deemed to have interfered in matters well beyond her scope and was seen as exercising enormous influence.
Subsequently, Wu resigned from her position as an unpaid independent adviser. The legal actions were dropped, and the board proclaimed that their differences had been set aside.
But that wasn’t the last we heard of the dispute. At the AGM last year, Philip Yeo, the former chairman of the Economic Development Board and one of the CDL directors who had backed Leng Beng, criticised his fellow directors for bypassing CDL’s chairman. Yeo’s unexpected intervention won him applause, though he would soon step down from the board in July 2025.
It’s easy to look at this year’s relatively quieter AGM and think, “Well, things must be fine now.” After all, CDL’s earnings for FY2025 were up 212.8% y-o-y at $629.7 million.
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That, however, risks ignoring the lesson that should have been drawn from last year’s drama. The boardroom saga came as a shock to those who assumed that family dramas take place behind closed doors, not played out through rival PR agencies’ statements in a father-son dispute.
This week’s AGM on April 29 comes just a week after CDL announced that Wong, Desbaillets and Young had resigned their directorships at M&C. The trio had been appointed to M&C’s board just over a year ago. CDL said in a statement on April 22 that the changes would not affect the ongoing operations oversight of M&C.
“The directors were appointed to the MCHL Board to strengthen governance at a key subsidiary. With this now largely addressed, they have stepped down to focus on their responsibilities on the CDL Board and its committees.” New directors, with deep hospitality experience, have been appointed to help manage M&C.
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Prior to the AGM, observers were wondering if M&C would be spun off for its own listing, as part of the review. According to Sherman, recalling the multiple rounds of privatisation attempts before it was completed in 2019, the answer is no. In fact, hotels under M&C were occasionally a way for CDL to monetise its assets.
CDL shares have recovered from their lowest point of $4.32 on April 9, 2025, closing at $8.41 on April 28. However, that has not stopped a shareholder from asking why the valuation gap is wider compared with UOL Group (SGX:U14
) . CDL’s ongoing strategic review is seen to help address this, and more. “We will continue to look at M&C in a holistic manner, because it is a very important and big part of our portfolio, and substantially built up by our chairman,” said Sherman.
Family businesses often involve drama, but if it happens within private companies, it remains mere gossip fodder. Now, if they are listed companies with external shareholders, the attention is justified.
