(Bloomberg) -- Australia’s largest pension fund has sold down its stake in scandal-plagued WiseTech Global Ltd., saying the company’s governance fell short of expectations.  

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AustralianSuper, which manages more than A$365 billion ($230 billion), sold about A$580 million worth of WiseTech stock in the past few weeks, having been invested in the company since its public listing in 2016. 

The divestment comes after WiseTech’s founder and largest shareholder Richard White last month triumphed in a boardroom dispute after almost every director quit in a disagreement over the billionaire’s role at the company. Four of WiseTech’s six directors, including Chairman Richard Dammery, resigned following “intractable differences in the board and differing views” around White’s position. He then installed himself as executive chairman. 

The board, which now comprises his co-founder and first two outside investors, earlier this month said it would take no action against White even though an investigation found he failed to fully disclose personal relationships with an employee and a supplier. 

“We have sold because recent developments have not met our expectations,” AustralianSuper’s Head of Australian Equities Shaun Manuell said in a statement Wednesday. “We needed to see a sensible transition plan that got the balance right between governance and managing the founder’s role over time in order to continue to remain a shareholder” 

AustralianSuper’s stake was as high as 2.64% in January 2024, but had shrunk to 2.26% by October, when the first claims about inappropriate behavior by White were reported. The shareholding had fallen further to 1.9% by the time the WiseTech directors had resigned earlier this year.  

The fund said it had been a “strong supporter of the business” but that good governance was “essential” to delivering value. “As a long-term active manager, our role is to allocate members’ retirement savings to the companies we think are most likely to create value over the years to come,” Manuell said.  

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A WiseTech spokesperson said the company doesn’t comment on individual shareholder investment decisions.

WiseTech shares rose 0.3% in Sydney trading Wednesday, but are still down almost 30% since White returned. 

Aware Super, Rest, Insignia Financial and HESTA are among the other large pension funds still listed as WiseTech shareholders.

(Adds comment from WiseTech in eighth paragraph, closing share price.)

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