Meet Dr Marc Liebscher, the German White Knight riding to rescue of Steinhoff's retail shareholders

Steinhoff's management and board were given a bloody nose at December's Annual General Meeting when all the important proposals were voted down because of the opposition of Germany's leading Shareholder Protection association SDK. The investment activist body, established in the 1950s, boasts numerous coups including imploded multinational Wirecard. It speaks for shareholders representing 23% of Steinhoff's equity - and board member Dr Marc Liebscher says it wants to add South Africans to the 1800 German shareholders who have already proved to be the Nemesis of Steinhoff's managers. By voting against the proposals, SDK says it stopped a board proposal that would have seen already in-the-money financial speculators profiting further while shareholders would lose virtually everything. Berlin-based lawyer Liebscher says SDK is well-funded and up for a fight. Among its options is calling a meeting to replace the Steinhoff board and its well-paid (R50m a year) managers who, he believes, appear to be acting for hedge funds and other creditors rather than in the interests of shareholders. He spoke to Alec Hogg of BizNews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices