Woodford Says Could Win Fight For Control Of Olympus

Olympus ex-CEO Michael Woodford said on Tuesday that he has a realistic chance of winning a battle for control of the scandal-hit company and that he had the support of two major shareholders.

He added that he believed a proxy fight could be avoided, however.

Woodford, who blew the whistle on Olympus's $1.7 billion accounting scandal after being ousted as its CEO two months ago, told reporters at an arrival gate in Tokyo's Haneda Airport that any board he would select to take over from current management would be overwhelmingly Japanese, and that he would have no part in selling or breaking up the company.

Woodford is making his second trip to Japan since being fired and plans to meet ruling-party lawmakers during the week and hold a news conference on Thursday, a day after the deadline for Olympus to file second-quarter results.

He said he had no plans during his current trip to meet police and prosecutors who are investigating the scandal, although he would be available to talk with them.

REUTERS