Marconi seeks new chairman

DEREK Bonham, chairman of telecoms equipment group Marconi, has begun a search for a successor now that the stricken company is well on the road to solving its debt problems.

He has written to the group's beleaguered shareholders, stressing that although the firm had been through its most traumatic year it still had confidence about the future.

Bonham sent the letter to investors ahead of the group's annual general meeting, which he announced would be on 8 October. The meeting will come six weeks after the group's life-saving financial restructuring deal was agreed.

He said: 'The last financial year has been the most traumatic in the company's history, with shareholders and employees suffering substantial losses. At the annual general meeting, I would like to take the opportunity to outline recent developments at Marconi.'

The group has overhauled its operations in a comprehensive restructuring that has seen it slash more than 10,000 jobs and last month it secured a life-saving debt-for-equity swap.

The refinancing agreement means control of the company has been shifted to Marconi's banks and bondholders. It will slash net debt from around £3bn to just £300m.