SINGAPORE: A boardroom tussle at City Developments Limited (CDL) has escalated into a legal battle, with property tycoon Kwek Leng Beng accusing his son of attempting a boardroom "coup".

The dispute centres on claims that group CEO Sherman Kwek sought to appoint new independent directors without full board approval, leading to a power struggle at CDL, one of Singapore's largest property companies and controlled by the Kwek family.

The public spat has sent shockwaves through the industry, raising questions about CDL's governance and share price volatility.

Here's what we know so far about the feud that has erupted between father and son:

Jan 28: An email was sent to CDL's board, with board members Mr Philip Lee and Ms Wong Ai Ai nominating two new independent directors. 

Jan 29: The elder Kwek, 84, questioned the urgency of appointing two new independent directors.

The timing, on the eve of Chinese New Year, and the rush to approve the appointments raised concerns, he said, adding that Mr Chong Yoon Chou, the chairman of the nomination committee, was "completely unaware" of the nominations.

Jan 31: Mr Lee requisitioned a board meeting in an attempt to push through the proposed appointments. 

Feb 7: A board meeting was convened. The older Kwek said no vote was taken, but hours later, a written resolution approving the appointments of Ms Jennifer Duong Young and Ms Wong Su Yen as independent non-executive directors was passed.

The move, according to the elder Kwek, indicated a pre-planned effort by his son and other directors to consolidate control.

Feb 8: Tensions escalated further when Mr Kwek Leng Beng sent an email and sought his son's removal as group CEO, citing his role in what he called "the latest of a long series of missteps". 

The elder Kwek pointed to past business decisions under Mr Sherman Kwek's leadership that have "put CDL in a precarious position", including a S$1.9 billion (US$1.42 billion) loss from CDL's investment in Chinese developer Sincere Property in 2020 and poor returns from UK property ventures.

CDL's share price has also underperformed since Mr Sherman Kwek, 49, took over in 2018, he said.

Feb 9: The board, now led by Mr Lee, opposed the move to remove the younger Kwek as group CEO.

Feb 21: In a regulatory filing, CDL said its nominating committee and its remuneration committee will be merged to form the nominating and remuneration committee. This is in order to "streamline and facilitate holistic oversight and consideration of the appointment, performance and compensation of the directors and key management personnel".

Feb 25: Court papers are filed to address what the elder Kwek described as an attempted "coup" and to restore corporate integrity.

Feb 26: Mr Kwek Leng Beng accused his son and a group of directors, including Mr Lee and Ms Wong, of bypassing CDL's nomination committee to push through board changes without proper review.

The senior Kwek said: "As a father, firing my son was certainly not an easy decision.

"I accept that business decisions are difficult and young people may make business mistakes in their careers and that is understandable, but circumventing corporate governance laws is a red line."

In a statement, the senior Kwek urged shareholders to support efforts to "restore strong governance" at CDL, warning that the current dispute risks damaging the company’s reputation and long-term stability.

Mr Kwek Leng Beng also vowed to take all legal steps necessary to protect the company’s governance standards and its shareholders' interests.

A trading halt was called the same morning before markets opened. A CDL spokesperson said that trading was halted due to the disagreement within the board about its composition and constitution, and business operations remain "fully functional and unaffected".

"As the matter is currently under review, the company will make further announcements should there be any material developments in this matter, in line with SGX listing rules," the spokesperson added. 

The CDL spokesperson also said that Mr Sherman Kwek remains the group CEO until there is a board resolution to change the company leadership.

If the legal action by the elder Kwek is successful, Mr Kwek Eik Sheng, currently group chief operating officer, will serve as interim group CEO should Mr Sherman Kwek be removed. Mr Kwek Eik Sheng is the nephew of Mr Kwek Leng Beng.

The younger Kwek later issued a statement, calling his father's actions "extreme" and said his legal action was not authorised by the majority of the board. 

"It is incredibly disappointing that our chairman and a minority of the CDL board have decided to take these extreme actions regarding this disagreement around the size and make-up of the CDL board," said Mr Sherman Kwek.

"Our focus as CEO and directors, as a board majority and with clear guidance and support from our company and independent legal counsel, has always been to implement steps to improve governance."

The younger Kwek added that this has "never been about ousting our esteemed chairman".

"These steps to strengthen our board have purely been to ensure CDL has the highest standards of governance to which it has become known, and our collective decision-making as a board is as robust as possible," he said.

After a court hearing in the afternoon, Mr Kwek Leng Beng said in another statement at night that the “serious lapses” of corporate governance at CDL had now been halted.

The elder Kwek announced that his son and other directors acting with him, including Mr Lee and Ms Wong, agreed to cease further action following the hearing. 

This means the board committees and the management of the relevant subsidiaries are “now safe from further attempts to destabilise, dismantle and reconstitute them”, said Mr Kwek Leng Beng.

He added that the board and the management of these subsidiaries will now be able to “function normally and without unwarranted interference as they were prior to the attempted coup”.

Feb 27: Mr Sherman Kwek singled out his father's former personal assistant, Dr Catherine Wu, as the source of a dispute within CDL, continuing the legal wrangle and public war of words between father and son.

Dr Wu, 65, is an adviser to the board of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C), a subsidiary of CDL.

In his statement, the younger Kwek said Dr Wu has been "interfering in matters going well beyond her scope", adding that "she wields and exercises enormous influence".

"These matters have troubled us as directors. Due to her long relationship with the chairman, efforts that were made to manage the situation were done sensitively, but to no avail," he said in a statement.

"This led us, with the benefit of legal advice, to propose a resolution to terminate the advisory agreement Dr Wu has with the board of M&C and another to affirm that Dr Wu has no power and authority, among other things, to influence or advise the directors, management and staff of the CDL and M&C Groups.

"We considered them to be necessary to protect the interests of the shareholders and relevant staff of the CDL Group, and to restore proper corporate governance and accountability."

The younger Kwek also reiterated that there has been "no attempt by us to oust the chairman".

The trading of CDL shares remain suspended, two days after the halt was first called.