Back in the day, when Fosters Group was still a listed company covering both beer (mostly CUB) and wine (the conglomerate which came to be known as Berringer Blass), they used to hold all the best corporate AGMs.
They would hire out the big ball room at Crown Casino and you could listen to some of the oldies asking for shareholder discount plans for their booze purchases in the question time and the occasional even sillier idea (one old lady regaled us with the idea of one shareholder one vote, rather than one share one vote). I did find self appointed shareholder activist Stephan Mayne particularly annoying with his questions, all of which caused the meeting to drag on far longer than it needed to.
For, after the meeting was done, there was about an hour of open bar with canapés, where you could try a range of the beer and wine products Fosters produced.
Treasury Wine Estate has, as the successor company to Fosters’ wine division, kept up the tradition of having an open bar after their AGM. Since retiring last year, I have started attending those again, just as I used to get great joy in going to the Fosters AGMs 20 years ago.
There were some interesting wines to sample. For instance, Penfolds is now making an actual Champagne in France, and that was on offer. I did have a glass of it. I also had a glass of some Pinot Noir. But mostly, I kept my eye on the prize: Penfolds Bin 28.
Back in 1999 when I first started to drink wines which cost more than $15 per bottle and reading wine appreciation guides, Penfolds Bin 28 could be found for about $19.99 in your local supermarket bottle shop. Not so now – it goes for about $50 per bottle.
As a consumer, this makes drinking Penfolds rather expensive. But as a shareholder in TWE (I own 1,000 shares), I applaud the price hike. May many rich Chinese buy and drink as much Penfolds as they desire, and I wish them great joy of it.
During the two or so hours I was accumulating this indirect dividend of free booze and canapés after the AGM was over, I happened to befriend two other shareholders (we are a convivial bunch, given that we are not short of a quid), whom I then took to my Club for a few more drinks afterwards.
One of them had some interesting things to say about corporate soirees. He has a large share portfolio, so he attends many AGMs. He has noticed a number of non-shareholders who attend AGMs on a regular basis, solely so that they can enjoy the catering afterwards. He identified quite a few of those regulars at the TWE meeting yesterday. That is just plain rude.
Lost For Words! 