Maverick founder wins foes in Japan with move to dump board

Tokyo

A SPAT is rocking one of Japan's most popular Internet companies after the founder moved to kick out the board, enraging staff and sending shares tumbling.

Akimitsu Sano, who owns 44 per cent of Cookpad Inc, shocked investors in January by calling on them to dump all other directors of the recipe-sharing site, saying the company was neglecting its main business. The stock fell 23 per cent in one day and has whipsawed with each new skirmish in a battle to control a firm with more than 85 million monthly website users.