Billionaire George Soros has installed a director on the board of Guinness Peat Group after the Quantum Strategic Partners fund his firm manages took an 8 percent stake in the investment company last year. GPG said Waldemar Szlezak, a representative of Soros Fund Management, was appointed as a non-executive director this week. “I am pleased to have the expertise and …

Corporate raider Sir Ron Brierley has passed the half-way point in his exit from Guinness Peat Group, the investment firm he founded in the early 1990s, and has raised some $17.73 million in a series of sales since October last year. The Sydney-based septuagenarian sold 5 million shares in GPG at 60 cents apiece for a total of $3 million …

Wellington Drive Technologies, the unprofitable manufacturer of energy efficient motors, has requested a trading halt pending an announcement. The irregularly traded shares fell 8.7 percent, or 1.5 cents, to 14 cents yesterday, valuing the Auckland-based company at $11.3 million. The stock has dropped 30 percent in the past 12 months. The manufacturer has embarked on a turnaround plan which has …