Scope of ASMI mismanagement probe to be reduced

The investigation into possible mismanagement at chip machinery maker ASMI which was ordered by the company court last year should be reduced in scope, the advocate general Vino Timmerman has told the high court.

The top legal official’s advice follows an appeal by ASMI major shareholder Arthur de Prado, who called for the investigation to be stopped altogether, the Financieele Dagblad reports.
Timmerman said Del Prado’s appeal was partially justified. In particular, ASMI had done what could be expected of it in terms of strategy and involving unhappy shareholders such as asset managers Hermes and Fursa, he said in his recommendations.
Strategy is primarily up to the management and supervisory boards, the paper quoted Timmerman as saying.