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Note:- I am not claiming that the many allegations and criticisms
in the material on this page are all true. In fact Gribbles has
aggressively attacked and defended itself against its many critics
and it has paid few if any fines. What is clear is that a number of
agencies felt strongly about Gribbles and its CEO, Wallace Cameron's
activities. They attempted to fine them or recover taxes. My argument
is that with so much smoke there is likely to be a significant fire.
The press extracts speak for themselves. My comments are therefore
based on the assumption that there is substance to some if not all
the criticisms and my comments are made on this basis. I am not
claiming that what Gribbles did was illegal, but I am concerned that
it was not appropriate and that it did not meet the standards of
probity required for a provider of health care.
The many extracts on these pages are from
copyright material. They are owned by the reference
given or its owner. They are reproduced here for
educational purposes and to stimulate public debate
about the provision of health and aged care. I
consider this to be "fair use" in the common
interest. They should not be reproduced for
commercial purposes. The material is selective and
I have not included denials and explanations. I am
not claiming that the allegations are true. The
intention is to show the general thrust of
corporate practices as well as the nature and
extent of any allegations made. Because adverse
allegations are so common I have assumed for the
purpose of these pages that there is some substance
to them.
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This web
page examines the history of the Gribbles Group,
primarily a second tier provider of laboratory
services from 1936. It traces its growth during the
late 1980s, the 1990s and early 2000s, it records
its global expansion, and finally examines its
collapse and sale in 2004. During that period the
company and its controversial CEO aggressively
fought a continuous running legal battle with the
tax office, with the health regulators who accused
it of illegal and unethical practices, and with
financiers and those who were owed money. There
were complex corporate arrangements, and financial
dealings which skated the edges of legal conduct
and required regulatory investigation or ended in
court.
Gribbles Group and its controversial CEO, past tax lawyer, Wallace Cameron, provide another fascinating insight into the corporate marketplace and the sort of people who prosper there. Cameron displays similarities to other corporate executives in Australia including people like Edelsten, McGoldrick, and Wenkart - and to a lesser extent Bateman, and even Catchlove and Smedley.
The large number of allegations and, what many would feel are undesirable practices have been aggressively denied and contested through the courts. The issues have consequently been complex. They have not always been resolved. Their volume and the overall impression from reading the reports is persuasive. They will need to be documented and addressed with some care.
To simplify the issues I will start in part 1 by telling the Gribbles story as it grew from a single pathology business founded in 1936 to Australia's third largest pathology provider and large multinational, and then rapidly collapsed in 2004. In part 2 I will return to explore individual issues and people.
Of particular interest were the accolades from an enthusiastic market and politicians when it looked as if Gribbles would make money. This was in the face of allegations of unsavoury and even illegal business practices. Everyone chose to simply look past all this. Had Cameron been business wise and financially successful the way in which Gribbles had stretched the limits of acceptable behaviour may well have been glossed over. The criticisms came when Cameron failed to meet the financial objectives he had promised.
As I read his character, his views of what was acceptable were individual. He was not the sort of person who could be challenged. These views matched his interests. The strategies adopted and the complex structures set in place matched his rationalisations and justifications. If he is like many other similar corporate leaders in health care then he did not see himself as doing anything wrong (for him this meant illegal). He hotly contested each issue.
Gribbles claims it was founded as a South Australian pathology practice in 1936 but it may not have been called Gribbles then. A Dr Michael Gribble joined the practice in 1960 when there were only 8 staff members. He was still practising in the business in 1996.
Wallace Cameron, a young Tax Lawyer with a penchant for challenging the tax office in court, enlisted the financial support of the controversial and mysterious Bruce Matheson. Mathieson was a poker machine operator and was involved in Casinos. Together they bought a controlling interest in Gribbles in 1987 and Cameron became CEO.
Member of a winning team for 36 years The Advertiser March 7, 1996,
References
Healthy Outlook For Pathology Play Shares Magazine November 1, 2001
One of the last remaining partners, Norris Carter, sold the business to Mr Cameron in 1987. At the time, Victorian poker-machine king Bruce Mathieson was a partner but his stake was eventually sold to other parties.
2004 Review - the purchase of Gribbles in 1987
Gribbles' $121m man Australian Financial Review November 4, 2004
In 1996 Matheson sold his half of Gribbles to the Malaysian company Berjaya group. At the same time Gribbles commenced operations in that country. Berjaya in turn sold its 49% of the company to Ian Trahar's West Australian company Revesco in 1999. In 2001 Gribbles, still a private company listed on the sharemarket by doing a reverse takeover of market listed Revesco (now renamed Medical Care Services). Cameron retained 40% of the company and was the controlling share holder.
Cameron commenced the consolidation of the industry during the 1990s by buying up smaller practices. Gribbles did not target hospitals and the more specialised services required in them. Its customers were the general practitioners and it set up a large number of pathology laboratories to service their needs. These laboratories provided more limited basic services and either sent material to their laboratory in Adelaide or contracted more complex work to companies like Mayne and Sonic. Sonic had adopted a different model electing to manage a small number of state of the art laboratories very efficiently and transport specimens to them.
It is interesting that it was government pressure which initiated the consolidation and which pressed for global expansion in the face of allegations about the company's conduct. During the 1990s Gribbles was Australia's largest pathology company
Gribbles was soon in conflict with the Health Insurance Commission which attempted to investigate it for paying kickbacks to doctors. It is consequently likely that it did not have a good reputation among the medical establishment for probity or for providing state of the art pathology services.
Essentially Gribbles was a profit focussed "second-tier operator" but no one had the courage to say so until 2005, long after Gribbles had collapsed and been sold. The medical establishment had been wary of it.
Cameron must have been very persuasive. For some years press reports described Gribbles scattered service as Australia's most efficient pathology group.
As a consequence Gribbles never attained more than 11% of the Australian pathology market. It missed an opportunity to more than double in size and move centre stage when it allowed Mayne Health to outbid it for the large Queensland Medical Laboratories (QML) in 2002. Gribbles was hotly tipped, as many doctors at QML did not want to work for Mayne. Cameron either could not raise the cash or simply refused to pay so much.
By the end of 2001 it had a strong market share in Victoria (28 per cent), South Australia (40 per cent) and WA (8 per cent). It later expanded into NSW but did not perform well there.
Gribbles Pathology, a private company employing 1000 people in three States, is Australia's largest pathology group. It provides clinical tests for an average of 7000 patients a day in SA, Victoria and Broken Hill.
1996 Consolidation and government
------------------------------
Federal government pressure on pathology costs and margins in recent years have forced several of the nation's oldest established pathology practices to merge, and some interstate practices have closed.
Medical firm's Asian coup $34.5m deal to create pathology world leader The Advertiser March 7, 1996
Gribbles has a significant interest in the Victorian and South Australian pathology markets as a service provider via an extensive network of pathology collection centres and laboratories for the collection and processing of human and veterinary pathology tests. In addition Gribbles carries on the businesses of radiology, cardiology, audiometry, lung function tests, environmental testing, and provides logistical support to a number of medical practices in Victoria.
1999 Scope of operations
Major Investment in Gribbles Pathology Group Australian Associated Press August 6, 1999
Control of MCS, which will be renamed the Gribbles Group, will fall to Gribbles managing director Wallace Cameron, whose interests will hold about 41 per cent of the enlarged company.
2001 Merger with MCS (previously Revesco)
----------------------------
Gribbles is regarded as the best-performing pathology player in Australia, ahead of competitors Sonic Healthcare and Mayne Nickless.
MCS Investors Vote To Pick Up Rest Of Gribbles The West Australian May 31, 2001
- - - - and recently merged Gribbles's 25 laboratories into a major corporate body, boasting medical centres and radiology, valued at $395 million.
2001 Consolidation
Just like Sonic, Gribbles grew through the economies of scale generated by acquisitions, new technology, and from the enthusiastic ordering of tests by Australian doctors. With business interests stretching the globe, the Melbourne barrister turned entrepreneur now controls $150 million worth of Gribbles stock.
The Rise And Rise Of Medicare Millionaires Australian Financial Review November 20, 2001
Gribbles runs two dozen labs to service its market share, compared with Sonic, which has four labs to service about three times the volume.
2002 Laboratory distribution
Predators And Prey Shares Magazine January 1, 2002
Macquarie Equities health care analyst John O'Connell says Gribbles is the most efficient of the listed pathology operators and he "looks to the outcome of the likely QML trade sale as the next catalyst".
2002 Efficiency and QML sale
Gribbles Seen As Winner In QML Race Australian Financial Review June 12, 2002
Gribbles Group can't be too happy with the market's reaction to rumours that Mayne Group has beaten it in the bidding for privately owned Queensland group QML.
2002 Misses a key opportunity
----------------------------
As for Gribbles, the group could well have lost the race to become a major player in the pathology industry. Sonic Healthcare has 43 percent of the market, Mayne 20 per cent, which would jump to 32 per cent if the rumours about QML are true, while Gribbles would languish with just 10 per cent.
Gribbles gripes The Sydney Morning Herald June 26, 2002
Gribbles typically services the general practitioner market and has so far failed to gain a foothold in hospitals, whereas Healthscope currently outsources an estimated 725,000 cases of pathology work to other providers, including Mayne group and Sonic Healthcare, each year.
2004 A GP service - not hospitals
$271 million bid for Gribbles The Age October 21, 2004
Gribbles is a second-tier operator in pathology. It has never offered a complete range of tests and relied on a high turnover and low prices to keep revenue up.
2005 Really a second tier operator
Path test BRW December 1, 2005
Dixon is also keen to develop more professional relationships with GPs and specialist doctors. Partly because of its history, Gribbles has always been regarded as something of a fringe operator and struggled to attract the top rung of pathologists to work for it. That has meant it has not carried out much of the specialised pathology work required by hospital doctors.
2005 A fringe operator
GRIBBLES SAGA NOT OVER Business Review Weekly January 27, 2005
Ian Trahar's West Australian resuscitated investment company Revesco entered health care in 1999 buying general practices, day care facilities, radiology, pathology, and paramedical services in Western Australia. It renamed itself Medical Care Services (MCS). It bought Berjaya group's 49% holding in Gribbles. In 2001 Gribbles did a reverse takeover of MCS and then changed MCS name back to Gribbles. The MCS general practice based subsidiary was never profitable and Gribbles had difficulty selling it. In January 2004 the new company NMIG bought it.
The Revesco/MCS's story, its relationship with Gribbles, the reverse takeover and the subsequent performance of this subsidiary are described on another web page,
Click Here to go to the Revesco/MCS page
Gribbles was a private company and its early growth by the acquisition of local human and veterinarian pathologists is not recorded in the press. An indication of the scope of its operations is given in Jobson's Yearbook near the end of 2002 a year before it started to fall apart.
Gribbles has a significant interest in the Victorian and South Australian pathology markets as a service provider via a network of pathology collection centres and laboratories for the collection and processing of human and veterinary pathology tests. In addition Gribbles carries on the businesses of radiology, cardiology, audiometry, lung function tests and environmental testing, and provides logistical support to a number of medical practices in Victoria. Gribbles Malaysia provides pathology services in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei and Southern Thailand.
2002 Scope of operations
The Gribbles Group Limited. Jobson's Yearbook October 31, 2002
Most human pathology operations were in South Australia and Victoria, with Revesco/MCS' having more modest operations in Western Australia. The company moved into NSW during 2002 buying Citywide Diagnostics Pathology and Universal Diagnostic Laboratories, both in Sydney. It also bought another human pathology business in Victoria. Even though Gribbles was losing money in 2002 and 2003 Cameron pressed on with acquisitions in Australia and Asia increasing debt. He made promises that the company would not meet. His credibility evaporated.
The Gribbles Group Limited (GGL.AX) Recent Acquisitions & Performance. Australian Stock Exchange Company Announcements May 2, 2002
2002 Growth reference
In the last seven months of the financial year, Gribbles made eight acquisitions.
2002 Growth
Managing director Wallace Cameron defended the expansion program, saying it would boost margins in 2002-03.
Stock to Watch: GRIBBLES GROUP Australian Associated Press Ralph Wragg Equities News October 22, 2002
The Gribbles Group Ltd has acquired three human pathology businesses in NSW and WA.
2003 Growth
Gribbles buys 3 human pathology firms in NSW and WA Ralph Wragg Australian Business News September 10, 2003
During the 2002 financial year, the company expanded to Singapore and India, and acquired ten businesses. They acquired a further two prior to the end of the financial year, Endemic Pathology in New South Wales and Alpha Biological Laboratories in Auckland and Christchurch. Of the total twelve, five of these businesses were in human pathology, four in veterinary pathology and three were analytical laboratories.
2003 Growth
The Gribbles Group Limited. Jobson's Year Book July 1, 2003
to
contents
Veterinary Pathology.
Veterinary pathology was one of the peripheral pathology related businesses in which Gribbles participated. It had veterinary laboratories in Victoria. One of these was Victoria Veterinary Pathology Services (VVPS) in which Gribbles invested, and which it later acquired. Its founder Judith Slocomb became a senior manager in Gribbles, a millionaire and a winner of prestigious business awards. In 2003 it won a major contract in Victoria under controversial circumstances. This is described later on this page.
Gribbles also acquired veterinary pathology businesses in New Zealand.
Preliminary Final Report. Australian Stock Exchange Company Announcements September 17, 2001
References
Gribbles wins 5-year vet pathology contract in SA Ralph Wragg Australian Business News November 5, 2003
Environmental analytical
services
Other businesses acquired included Amdel Ltd, a business that tests environmental, petroleum and mineral samples. It is interesting that in spite of the many concerns about Gribbles at this time they were able to get senior ministers in both NSW and Victoria to officially open their laboratories.
Gribbles puts directors overboard Australian Financial Review March 5, 2002
References
(AEGGL) Gribbles opens $1.5m Amdel facility in Newcastle Ralph Wragg Australian Business News July 14, 2003
MINISTER OPENS $3 MILLION LABORATORY FOR GRIBBLES Australian Company News Bites August 13, 2003
Gribbles Group Ltd announced the establishment of a subsidiary company, Gribbles Molecular Science, to expand its presence in genetic testing. Almost all research relating to biotechnology today involves genomics and related fields.
2003 Molecular Science
GRIBBLES ESTABLISHES GRIBBLES MOLECULAR SCIENCE Australian Company News Bites September 15, 2003
to
contents
Global Expansion
Malaysia:- It is interesting that an essentially second tier pathology business was the first to go international. This occurred when Malaysia's Berjaya group, of Kuala Lumpur bought half of Gribbles from Mathieson in 1996. This gave Gribbles a significant holding in Malaysia and there were grand plans to expand. It is interesting that it was government that initiated and then strongly supported this foreign venture. Berjaya also held 20% of Alpha Healthcare. Gribbles continued to expand into other countries.
The partnership lasted only three years. It is not clear whether Cameron and Berjaya were poor bedfellows or whether it was the Asian crash which caused them to pull out. They sold their half to Revesco/MCS in 1999.
Berjaya's proposed Australian acquisitions - - - - - - - - and pay $34.7 million for 50 per cent stakes each in Advanced Medical Technology Ltd and Victorian-based Gribbles Pathology Trust.
1996 Berjaya buys into Gribbles
-----------------------------
The intention is for Gribbles to expand its operations into Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
Berjaya profit falls after buying spree announcement THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN January 20, 1996
Adelaide is to become the headquarters of one of the world's biggest pathology groups, opening the way to the large Asian medical market. Adelaide-based Gribbles Pathology has sold a 50 per cent stake of its business for $34.5 million to Malaysia's Berjaya group, of Kuala Lumpur, which has extensive interests in the Asian leisure, private hospital and health care industries.
1996 Governments role and grand plans
Gribbles' medical director, Dr Richard Abbott, said yesterday 20 new pathology laboratories would be established in Malaysia this year, followed by 10 in the Philippines and 80 to 100 in Thailand and Indonesia within the next three to five years.
---------------------------------
The SA Health Commission brought the company and the Malaysian group together and helped negotiate the deal.
Medical firm's Asian coup $34.5m deal to create pathology world leader The Advertiser March 7, 1996
The company is expanding into Asia, with laboratories in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Thailand already in operation.
2002 Growth in Asia
Gribbles in a healthy position. Shares (abstracts) January 2, 2002
India :- Gribbles entered into a joint venture in India but this did not prosper.
Gribbles has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Dr Reddy's Group of Hyderabad which could make the joint venture the biggest pathology provider in India.
2000 Enters India
------------------------
Gribbles would base its India strategy on its Malaysian operation, with the main difference being the Dr Reddy's Group's relationships with more than 400,000 general practitioners and the majority of hospital operators in India.
Gribbles Set To Expand To India The West Australian May 25, 2000
Dr Reddy's has been looking to quit the joint venture for two years, and Gribbles said last month it was seeking a new partner to fund the business or other funding and expected to resolve the fate of the Indian arm this quarter.
2004 Lost money
Australian Mayne considers bid for Gribbles-report. Reuters News September 16, 2004
- - - - - has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Gibca Group of United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the intention of establishing pathology laboratories in the Emirates.
2001 Emirates
Under the MOU, the two companies will also assume management of several existing hospital laboratories.
-------------------------------
Gribbles will have a 49 per cent interest in the joint venture (the maximum allowed under current regulatory requirements) and will be responsible for providing all key management personnel.
News in brief : MEDICAL CARE Australian Associated Press May 11, 2001
Gribbles Malaysia has entered into an agreement to acquire Zenith Laboratories, a Singapore based private pathology laboratory. It is expected to complete this acquisition by 31 October, 2001.
2001 Singapore
Preliminary Final Report. Australian Stock Exchange Company Announcements September 17, 2001
PERTH-BASED health care company Gribbles Group has announced plans to buy four veterinary laboratories in New Zealand. - - - - - The four laboratories are operated by Agri Quality, a state-owned enterprise which supplies equipment in Australia and NZ and have a combined revenue of about $NZ5 million.
2002 Four vet labs
HEALTH COMPANIES TAKEOVERS WA VETS LABORATORIES NZ The West Australian March 7, 2002
The Gribbles Group Ltd has agreed to purchase Alpha Scientific Ltd of New Zealand.
2002 Another Vet lab
Alpha Scientific is a Hamilton-based diagnostic laboratory, providing primarily veterinary pathology services.
Gribbles Group to buy NZ diagnostic laboratory December 5, 2002
The acquisitions, along with the previously-announced acquisition in NZ of Northland Pathology, which was completed in July, will be funded by existing debt facilities at a cost of about $23 million.
2003 And another
Gribbles buys 3 human pathology firms in NSW and WA Ralph Wragg Australian Business News September 10, 2003
Cameron and Gribbles clearly presented themselves well. The market was initially upbeat. Significantly some major investors were a little more insightful and sold down after the backdoor merger and listing in 2001.
Some analysts were sceptical about Gribbles prospects and its financial statements, questioning the information supplied and its accuracy. Others accepted Cameron's glowing projections and supported the company. By the end of 2003 the sceptics dominated and few of Cameron's positive statements were accepted at their face value.
Strategies to make the books look better included the manipulation of large intangible assets. As profitability dropped Cameron found a tax loophole which allowed him to add millions to the balance sheet projections. This proved embarrassing as the accountants refused to go along with it.
While the market's initial response to the reverse takeover of Gribbles, which is today Australia's third largest pathology player, was positive, Commonwealth Bank and BT Funds Management both ditched a large slice of their holdings.
Nov 2001 Some wary
-----------------------------
"It also has strong management, led by Wallace Cameron. We believe Gribbles is a solid company that should be able to grow its earnings per share by 15 per cent a year over the next three years," says Henderson.
Healthy Outlook For Pathology Play Shares Magazine November 1, 2001
This (poorer performance compared to Sonic) has been reflected in the derating of rival pathology operators Mayne Group and Gribbles Group, which have fallen 22.5 per cent and 35.2 per cent respectively this year.
Apr 2002 Performance down
New Theme Is Stock-specific Buys Australian Financial Review April 22, 2002
Pathology group Gribbles has painted a rosy picture of continuing earnings growth and highlighted plans for further acquisitions.
Jun 2002 Positive spin
Gribbles In Tip-top Shape, Signals More Acquisitions Sydney Morning Herald June 14, 2002
As for Wallace Cameron at Gribbles Group (see graphic), he just can't seem to manage market expectations. The pathology operator tumbled 7 cents to 58 cents after yet again overpromising and underdelivering with a full-year net profit of $2.2 million compared with a consensus forecast of $6.3 million.
Sept 2002 Confidence ebbing
Deadline looms for MacBank. Australian Financial Review September 13, 2002
The share price of Gribbles has fallen by 46 per cent this year as analysts have criticised the diversity of the group's practices.
Nov 2002 Share price falls
Good prognosis lifts Gribbles. Australian Financial Review November 22, 2002
But back to the balance sheet which, on closer inspection, shows that Gribbles boasts $323 million in intangible assets, including brands and licences. The bottom line of the balance sheet shows that net shareholder equity is actually only $293 million.
Nov 2002 Balance sheet questions
He's fairly mean, that Gribbles boss The Age November 22, 2002
But earnings would rise faster, as much as 40 per cent before interest, tax and depreciation and amortisation, thanks to continuing rationalisation of the group, shareholders were told at yesterday's annual meeting in Melbourne.
Nov 2002 Positive spin and promises
Gribbles revenue to top $50m. The Age November 22, 2002
The managing director of Gribbles Group, Wallace Cameron, gave an upbeat presentation to shareholders at the annual general meeting on November 21.
Dec 2002 Upbeat presentation but reservations
------------------------------
Many health-care industry analysts are cautiously waiting to see earnings before embracing the stock. They acknowledge that Cameron has been successful in building a pathology business, but he is known to be prone to making optimistic business forecasts.
Gribbles Faces Testing Times Business Review Weekly (Australia) December 12, 2002
Gribbles shareholders yesterday pulled the plug on their investment as the pathology and analytical services company reported a lower net profit for the December half-year.
Mar 2003 Investors pulling the plug
--------------------------------
The plunge pushed the share price to 51, close to the record low of 49 seen last September.
Investors desert Gribbles after weaker result. The Age March 5, 2003
Gribbles said in the report - - - - - - - - - - - The group is in a sound financial position. Good organic growth is expected in all businesses -
Sept 2003 Claiming sound financial position
NET PROFIT UP 367 PER CENT TO $10.174 MILLION Australian Company News Bites September 2, 2003
It is a stock that was embraced by many a professional investor, but it has disappointed no end and some have cut their losses and moved on to greener pastures.
Nov 2003 Dissapointment
----------------------------
Gribbles is the outfit that was injected into a listed structure in 1999 and 2000; money was raised by the bagful by the likes of Warburg and the performance ever since has been nowhere near what investors expected.
Gribbles' MD ailing; so are the shares The Age November 12, 2003
UNCERTAINTY over Gribbles' earnings has prompted Macquarie Equities to downgrade its recommendation on the group to underperform.
Nov 2003 Stock downgraded
Gribbles Group The West Australian November 13, 2003
The tax woes of pathology company Gribbles Group continued yesterday when its shares sank to a five-year low after it was forced to restate its financial accounts.
Mar 2004 Accountants reject the accounts
Gribbles' auditors, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu , issued two qualifications to the company's half-year accounts, relating to its treatment of two tax matters. Deloitte took a different view to the board on the treatment of a $23.4 million claim by the Australian Taxation Office against Gribbles. The claim related to tax losses linked to an asset sale the company made in 2000.
Gribbles' Stock Dives Over Audit Queries Australian Financial Review March 3, 2004
Gribbles Group has been forced to pull a $5.7 million income tax benefit from its books over uncertainty surrounding rules for copyright tax deductions.
Sept 2004 Forced to redo accounts
---------------------------
Given the uncertainty of the rules, the company has de-recognised the future tax benefit in the financial notes of its annual report released last night. It follows $35.5 million of write-downs recorded in the financial year just ended.
Gribbles taxed over copyright results The Age September 30, 2004
It is clear that by the end of 2003 a number or investors and people in the company had realised that there were major problems. The chairman John Moule resigned and soon after Wallace Cameron took sick leave and then resigned. Other senior staff also left.
The company's bankers Westpac had other problems with Cameron. They refused to renew Gribbles' loans. Gribbles were forced to renegotiate the loan with ANZ at a higher rate.
In response to pressure from bankers, the new chairman Bernard Wheelahan initiated an outside review. It is clear that this revealed that the company was no longer a viable operation. The new chairman did not disclose this publicly until after Gribbles was sold. He remained up-beat about prospects and put the company up for sale.
The company recently sold 26 medical centres, 14 radiology practices and a day surgery for $14 million, and earlier this month chairman John Moule retired. Experts say those two factors point to potential further problems, and many say the company regularly fails to meet earnings expectations.
Feb 2004 Signs of further problems
BRIEF CASE - THE GRIBBLES GROUP The Age February 11, 2004
There continues to be concern surrounding this company. The market seems to have low confidence in management guidance and there seems a certain lack of direction of operations. Accounting practices continue to be of concern and with further difficulties in Asia arising, the company looks to have a tough 12 months ahead.
2004 Market losing confidence
Gribbles Group Ltd (GGL) Sunday Times (Perth) February 15, 2004
Can Wallace Cameron survive as chief executive of the troubled Gribbles Group? In what represents a big power shift, directors of the out-of-favor pathology company have exerted their influence to force an independent review of Gribbles' operations and strategy.
May 2004 Wallace on leave - an independent review - problems
Cameron was the architect of Gribbles' troubled expansion program of the past two years. Among analysts and investors, his management is considered an important factor in the company's poor market standing. Cameron, who has 43% of the company and can veto moves for reform, has been on leave for several weeks and the company is not saying when he will be back.
Gribbles, with about 14% of the market, is Australia's third-largest private pathology provider. Since late 2003, the company has been criticised by analysts and large investors for its inadequate disclosure, failing to live up to the earnings guidance it has provided investors, and for the patchy results from its acquisitions program. Investors baling out have pushed the company's share price to its lowest level since listing four years ago. It is now trading at 35¢, less than a third of its peak of $1.39 in 2000 and 28% lower than its January 6 price of 49¢.
The Temperature Is Rising Business Review Weekly May 13, 2004
Chief operating officer Peter Anargyros and corporate manager Glenister Lamont have already departed, and more managers are expected to follow, The Australian Financial Review has learned.
Jun 2004 More departures - bloodletting
----------------------------
The biggest scalp sought by angry shareholders and some Gribbles directors is that of chief executive Wallace Cameron, who has been on what the company claims is "unexplained" leave since April.
Bloodletting To Cleanse Pathology Group Australian Financial Review June 1, 2004
His departure (Cameron) was cause for celebration in the market as Gribbles shares rose 3 ¢, or 10 per cent, to 32.5 ¢.
Jun 2004 Cameron fired
Interim chief executive Andre Carstens is negotiating with Gribbles' leading bankers over its $130 million debt, a mix of short-term and long-term loans held primarily by ANZ Bank.
A review into Gribbles' affairs was launched in April after the company shocked investors with an earnings downgrade. The company's chief operating officer and corporate manager departed recently.
Gribbles Chief Quits After Crisis Review Australian Financial Review June 2, 2004
Still, with debt of $130 million, Gribbles is currently negotiating a rollover of its funding facilities and conducting a rumoured bank-requested strategic review.
Jul 2004 Problem with bankers
A canny Cameron takes a new shot at Gribbles The Age July 3, 2004
GRIBBLES chairman Bernard Wheelahan wore a black tie yesterday - - - - - , telling a handful of shareholders the company had been saved from the brink of collapse earlier this year.
Nov 2004 Confessions after Gribbles was sold to Healthscope - problem with banks
He said Healthscope's $284.6million takeover offer of 63c a share was a satisfactory outcome for investors and employees. "We could have disappeared altogether," Mr Wheelahan said, describing the past year as "trying and traumatic".
-------------------------------
That prompted banker Westpac to pull out of talks to roll over the company's debt. Gribbles eventually received funding from ANZ, but at a high cost. "The only way out of a quagmire is to put one foot in front of another and that is what (fellow director David Heaney) and I did," Mr Wheelahan said.
Gribbles chairman talks up takeover The Australian November 30, 2004
Gribbles had called in insolvency experts to advise them but tried to hide this.
Australia's leading insolvency practice, Melbourne-based KordaMentha, has been called in to rescue troubled pathology group Gribbles Group.
2004 Called in insolvency experts but did not fully disclose this
KordaMentha is involved through its affiliate consultancy company, 333 Performance Management, The Australian Financial Review has learned.
Gribbles informed the market in April it had hired 333 Performance Management to "conduct a review", but neglected to mention it is part of KordaMentha and uses its offices and employees.
Two Marks team lends a hand at Gribbles Group Australian Financial Review July 2, 2004
The whole sale process was bedevilled by the fact that Cameron had never declared his ownership of 40% of Gribbles. This was held in the name of an offshore controlling shareholder, EC Medical Investments. He claimed that he acted for them but refused to disclose who the actual owners were.
No one was prepared to bid for Gribbles when they did not know who the major controlling shareholder was. Cameron refused to say and an investigation by Gribbles board revealed only a complex paper trail of companies in other countries and in tax havens. It was only after authorities threatened to confiscate the shares that Cameron disclosed that his children were the ultimate owners and he acted for them.
Meanwhile Cameron attempted to find a bank or other investor who would join EC Medical in buying the company and taking it private. He was unable to do so.
Both Mayne and Sonic had competition issues and elected not to bid for Gribbles. Healthscope, which did not own any pathology laboratories, was ultimately the only bidder. The board recommended that the bid be accepted but Cameron refused to do so forcing Healthscope to increase its bid.
At the same time Cameron applied further pressure by using the dominance of EC Medical to mount a battle for control of the board which seemed likely to succeed.
Cameron was having many costly legal problems in other areas. He was eventually pressured by his advisers to accept Healthscope's bid.
The takeover of Gribbles by Healthscope, completed in December 2004 is described on one of the Healthscope pages, as is Gribbles subsequent progress as a Healthscope subsidiary. I am writing here only about some aspects of Gribbles behaviour during the sale.
Click Here to go to the relevant section of Healthscope's story.
The largest shareholder in Gribbles, with a 43% stake, is the Belgian company EC Medical Investments NV. Among analysts and fund managers, it has always been assumed that EC Medical Investments was ultimately owned by Cameron; Cameron denies this, saying all he does is "speak" for the shares.
Jun 2004 EC Medical
With Cameron no longer running the company, the fate of the parcel of shares is unclear. Against the background of health-sector rationalisations, directors of Gribbles are concerned enough to have called in lawyers in an attempt to uncover who owns EC Medical Investments - with no results so far.
Stitched-up sector Business Review Weekly June 24, 2004
The ejected chief executive of the Gribbles pathology business, Wallace Cameron, is stitching together a management buy-out proposal for the troubled diagnostics business in a deal worth $300 million.
Jun 2004 Cameron wants to buy Gribbles
But Mr Cameron's comeback could be derailed by any one of a number of private equity groups now circling the group.
CEO plots Gribbles comeback Australian Financial Review June 24, 2004
Doubts have been raised about the likelihood of a private equity firm backing the secretive Cameron.
Jul 2004 Cameron doubtful
But according to Cameron, "everything will be fixed" within two weeks.
A canny Cameron takes a new shot at Gribbles The Age July 3, 2004
However, analysts are starting to question if Gribbles will attract a formal takeover bid, given that the market is now aware Mr Cameron's children can block any grab.
Jul 2004 Cameron can block other bidders
Decision day on Gribbles Australian Financial Review July 20, 2004
PATHOLOGY group Gribbles has opened a data room for interested bidders to trawl through, including ousted founder Wallace Cameron, as the board continues to flirt with the possibility of selling the company.
Aug 2004 More losses -- Up for sale
Gribbles yesterday reported a hefty full-year $51.3million loss, weighed down by $35.5 million of asset writedowns and restructuring costs.
The charges included the write-off of a $9.4 million loan to its partners in its 49 per cent owned loss-making Indian pathology joint venture trail-blazed by Mr Cameron but bankrolled by Gribbles.
Gribbles looks for new partner, but open to sale The Australian August 25, 2004
Gribbles is also losing market share to Sonic and Mayne in pathology, making it even more of a stretch to meet market expectations, and has to resolve the future of its Indian operations.
Sep 2004 Not enough information supplied
There have long been other bugbears in its profit reporting, including the way it separates unallocated costs from its domestic pathology operations, making it hard to reliably value the core business.
What has also frustrated bidders is that there's a lot of information missing in the data room, including operational budgets needed to secure debt financing for any bids.
With deposed founder and major shareholder Wallace Cameron also running the numbers, the board for some reason doesn't appear to be serious about putting the company into play. Without knowing what Cameron's position is, it's difficult for any bidder to make a serious bid. This sort of feedback suggests the process is fragile at best, even though there might be a good business under all this mess.
Obstacles hinder Gribbles sale Australian Financial Review September 1, 2004
Healthscope said it will offer Gribbles shareholders 60 cents cash per share, a three-cent premium to the target's last trade at 57 cents.
Oct 2004 Healthscope bids
The independent directors of Gribbles have recommended that its shareholders accept the offer in the absence of a superior proposal.
Australia's Gribbles: Healthscope Makes Cash Offer Dow Jones International News October 20, 2004
Moreover, the figures assume Gribbles' accounts are what they seem, but HealthScope investors can only hope the drawn-out talks mean there was very careful due diligence.
Oct 2004 Risks for Healthscope
Market Wrap : HEALTHY SCEPTICISM Australian Financial Review October 22, 2004
Gribbles' notice of meeting for its annual meeting next month was released last night. It says EC Medical Investments, a secretive European trust controlled by Cameron and which owns 43 per cent of Gribbles, has nominated two people to join Gribbles as directors.
Oct 2004 Gribbles tries to take control of the board
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Cowell and Home will join Cameron, who is still a director of Gribbles. It gives EC Medical Investments effective control of the company. They outnumber the other independent directors, Bernard Wheelahan and David Heaney.
Cameron goes for Gribbles' jugular Australian Financial Review October 28, 2004
However, since resigning from the company several months ago, he no longer has his $400,000-plus yearly salary to fall back on. With mounting legal fees and court fines, he is believed by sources to be facing pressure from advisers to accept Healthscope's offer.
Nov 2004 Cameron under pressure
ATO casts net beyond Gribbles The Age November 1, 2004
Cameron, who has a 43% shareholding in Gribbles, has indicated he may accept a revised offer of 63 cents a share, three cents a share higher than the original bid, according to the newspaper.
Nov 2004 Cameron prepared to sell at his price
Healthscope May Increase Gribbles Bid Dow Jones International News November 2, 2004
However, it is believed that Mr Cameron, who is being investigated by the Australian Taxation Office about $10 million in dividends that have flowed to ECMI over the past two years, has been facing pressure from his advisers to sell.
Nov 2004 Pressure on Cameron to sell
"It's fair to say he has had lots of pressure on him," one source said. "In essence, he hasn't been able to get a bid up with his own consortium of private equity backers . . . and no other bid has surfaced."
Healthscope's 5% lift in offer quickens Gribbles' interest The Age November 3, 2004
By increasing its offer by 3 a share to 63, Healthscope secured agreement from Gribbles' renegade director and company founder Wallace Cameron.
Nov 2004 All accept offer
Healthscope coughs up to win Gribbles Herald-Sun November 4, 2004
Melbourne businessman Wallace Cameron banked $121 million yesterday after quitting his controversial stake in pathology group Gribbles, delivering control to rival Healthscope.
Nov 2004 Cameron gets $121 million
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Mr Cameron's final cheque is well below the $270 million the stake was worth three years ago - - - - .
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But in recent years Gribbles has come under intense pressure from its shaky balance sheet, buckling under more than $130 million in debt linked to a troubled expansion into the Indian and South-East Asian market.
Gribbles' $121m man Australian Financial Review November 4, 2004
Healthscope Ltd has achieved the 90 per cent acceptance level for Gribbles Group and intends to declare the bid unconditional.
Dec 2004 Healthscope gets all of Gribbles
GRIBBLES OFFER TO GO UNCONDITIONAL; HEALTHSCOPE LAUNCHES $208M ISSUE Australian Company News Bites December 13, 2004
- - - - was completed with a $120-million cheque in time for Christmas to Wallace Cameron and his family. But it was not the end of former tax lawyer Cameron's links with Gribbles, or of the controversy that some of the more unusual business deals put in place by the previous management are causing the new owners.
Jan 2005 Cameron's legacy
GRIBBLES SAGA NOT OVER Business Review Weekly January 27, 2005
Part II
Issues involving Gribbles
While the broad account provided above gives some idea of the sort of company Gribbles was and the type of people who were running it, a closer look at some of the many facets gives a far better idea.
In the early 1990s governments embraced economic ideology without any questioning. They were committed to turning health care into a marketplace business like any other. The belief that health was no different to gambling and could be handled in the same marketplace way was not seen as bizarre. In the clinical arena governments brought in US multinationals to impose market values and practices. In pathology Gribbles was the vehicle for their policies. They supported it in spite of the allegations of unacceptable conduct.
The thrust of the many press reports suggests that Gribbles adopted marketplace beliefs and practices without any qualifications. They disregarded the restraints of the health care context. At the time many saw laws forbidding kickbacks as obsolete.
There is no real dividing line between what business considers essential management techniques and what others would consider as dysfunctional kickbacks. As a consequence companies employ a variety of strategies to make kickbacks look legal and prosecution of offenders becomes very difficult. Cameron used his legal skills to good effect to exploit this situation when investigated by authorities.
The Health Insurance Act specifically bans pathology companies from providing inducements to doctors, such as free staff or inflated rents, because of concerns about the potential for GPs to over-order and send people for tests they may not need.
Mar 2001 Kickbacks
Despite the act, and tough penalties including prison terms, health authorities have only recorded one minor fine, against a small operator.
Pathology Giant Faces Kickback Allegations Australian Financial Review March 27, 2001
The HIC attempted to control some of these practices before they were implemented by exercising its right to refuse licences.
Medicare laws, which ban inducements, prohibit companies offering doctors above-market rents for spaces within medical centres, but the practice is believed to be widespread in the $1 billion industry.
Mar 2001 Using licenses to forstall intentions
During the past six months, the HIC is understood to have knocked back more than 30 proposed rental arrangements as part of a tough new approach to enforcing the ban on inducements.
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Notwithstanding the matter referred last year to the committee, Gribbles has never been found guilty of any wrongdoing in relation to rents or any other forms of inducements.
HIC Crackdown On Offers Of Inflated Rent To Medics, Australian Financial Review March 28, 2001
Within 5 years of Cameron's purchase of Gribbles it became the subject of a Four Corners documentary and a Senate inquiry into alleged kickbacks. Legal battles and allegations of kickbacks continued into 2004 when the company was finally sold.
According to White in Parliament, one of the leading pathology providers in Melbourne, and which specialised in overservicing, kickbacks and inducements, was Gribbles Pathology Trust. Whose trustee was a company in which the biggest shareholder was our Guangdong Mathieson.
1996 Accusations in parliament
KEPT APART BY A WEB OF TIES: KENNETT AND POKIES KING MATHIESON THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN May 18, 1996
Gribbles encouraged and was proud of the number of staff who secured MBA's. Business-think was all embracing.
Henderson (analyst) says Gribbles has a "strong philosophy" in training its medical and technical staff in management skills, which has led to 11 of its pathologists gaining MBA degrees in the past three years.
Nov 2001 Encouraging MBAs
Healthy Outlook For Pathology Play Shares Magazine November 1, 2001
Judith Slocombe, one of Gribbles' senior managers and winner of many business awards unwittingly makes my point about the difference between individual business ventures and corporate operations. Our opinions differ on the benefits of this and the consequences.
Veterinarian Dr Judith Slocombe - - - - - - - -
Feb 2004 Well she said it
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"Then, in 2001, I sold the business to The Gribbles Group. I stayed with the business, as I'd built up industry knowledge and goodwill, did an MBA and became the director of the veterinary division. I had to develop the skills necessary to manage in a corporate environment, which is quite different from being an entrepreneur and business owner.
REAL LIFE: Self millionaires The Australian Women's Weekly February 5, 2004
To the economic ideologists there was no difficulty with the peculiar logic of a gambling king who built up a poker machine empire and a lawyer advising clients on tax avoidance being in charge of health care services. The same cultural factors, values, morals and business practices could be applied. This was the market medicine that the disorganised and inefficient health system required.
Bruce Mathieson was a coalition party donor and arguably an associate of Kennett, the radical reformist premiere of Victoria. Kennett set out to fund government coffers by encouraging and supporting the gambling industry. Mathieson and Cameron purchased Gribbles Pathology in 1987.
Mathieson's activities and his involvement in Gribbles were aired prominently in parliament. Gribbles relationship with doctors was the subject of a Four Corners program in 1992 and of a senate inquiry.
A MYSTERIOUS, controversial figure, Mr Bruce Mathieson has become the biggest individual operator of poker machines in the state.
1995 Mathieson and Gribbles
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Some of his business associations have also attracted attention. Mr Mathieson said he had ``nothing to do with'' alleged kickbacks paid by the company he now owns, Gribbles Pathology.
Poker Machine Operator's Hand Revealed Sunday Age May 28, 1995
If Mathieson was inclined to read, we could direct him to books explaining how he has got rich out of "government rents". On the one hand he targeted the easy pickings in pathology - where the taxpayer hands out $700 million a year for medical tests, with allegations of perhaps $100 million going in overservicing and another $50 million in kickbacks and inducements to doctors.
1996 Mathieson
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Now Kennett may know nothing of Mathieson's "activities" in pathology, but it is difficult to believe he did not have some faint knowledge of the way he was plucking the rich fruit from Victoria's gambling tree.
KEPT APART BY A WEB OF TIES: KENNETT AND POKIES KING MATHIESON THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN May 18, 1996
If we consider that Gribbles conduct was so widely challenged from 1992 onwards and the subject of an ongoing regulatory battle during the 1990s then the extraordinary positive ambience with which the company was embraced by analysts, politicians and the establishment speaks for the ideological blindness of the times. Like Cameron they would have rejected all allegations as mischievous.
The company was considered to be Australia's largest and most efficient. It was praised by governments, which assisted it in arranging, and supported it in its international expansion as described earlier. The morality of all this is little different to the support given by the US government to the international expansion of corporate health care giants in serious trouble in that country. But for the vigilance of citizens and the integrity of state health departments these US megacorps may well have taken over our health system - and we too might have experienced the subsequent scandal of healthy but anxious citizens being subjected to hazardous cardiac surgery.
One of Gribbles' most successful executives received business awards and accolades. I do not want to belittle Ms Slocombe's achievements but making such awards to an executive of a company whose conduct had been so questioned might be considered a little risky. It is interesting that Healthscope fired her when it took control and she sued for wrongful dismissal.
This adulation continued until questions about the profitability of the company arose. Critics were emboldened to express their reservations. By then politicians were nowhere in evidence.
SIR Eric (SA Governor Sir Eric Neal) said the best example he had seen of how success could be achieved was that of Adelaide-based Gribbles Pathology, which, as a result of a previous trade mission only 18 months ago, entered into a $35 million joint venture with a Malaysian group to provide pathology services throughout Asia.
1997 Praise from the governor
The vice-regal foot in the door The Advertiser March 21, 1997
The company was founded in 1936 and, through its aims of quality customer service and value, has become Australia's leader in diagnostic pathology testing.
1997 Praise
Some of the successful SA companies that form the basis of; the State's burgeoning health industry The Advertiser June 21, 1997
But the mother of nine believes women can have it all. She became the perfect example of why last Friday when she was named Telstra's Victorian Business Woman of the Year.
2001 Business accolades for Gribbles staff
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She entered into a joint venture with Gribbles Pathology in 1995. Since then, the company has grown 60-fold in revenue as well as employing 35 full-time workers and providing a training ground for expertise in veterinary diagnostics. The company also adapts new medical technologies. Earlier this year, the company became the National Testing Authority of Australia. Dr Slocombe recently sold her business to the Gribbles Group, staying on as managing director.
When It Comes To Success, One Woman Stands Out The Age August 27, 2001
Dr Judith Slocombe has been short-listed as a finalist in the International Woman Inspire Awards 2002 after last year taking out the Telstra Business Woman of the Year gong.
2002 More accolades
Australian in the running for international business woman award. Australian Associated Press General News November 28, 2002
In 2003 as things started unravelling Gribbles was nominated for the Monash business awards.
Meanwhile, Mt Waverley-based Movietime Popcorn manufacturer Superpop and The Gribbles Group were named finalists of the Monash Business Awards on February 11.
2003 Gribbles awarded
Business is not so good in Monash. Oakleigh Springvale Dandenong times March 12, 2003
If Gribbles had close political contacts and actively used any connections for political advantage then this is not public knowledge. A senior coalition politician had worked for Gribbles.
Ms Worth, who lost her seat to Labor's Kate Ellis in October, was parliamentary secretary for health.
2005 Possible political connectons
She has been appointed as a senior policy advocate for Canberra-based public affairs company Client Solutions, which specialises in policy advocacy in the health industry.
Ms Worth was trained in nursing and midwifery at Calvary Hospital in North Adelaide and also worked for Gribbles pathology.
Worth finds her feet as health sector advocate The Advertiser June 15, 2005
If there was political influence or abuse of process involving Griffiths in Australia then it may have occurred in a minor scandal in Victoria in 1996.
In 1996 there was controversy and a lot of unhappiness when Victorian Veterinary Pathology Services (VVPS) and Gribbles won a contract for a major animal testing privatisation from the Kennett government. This was a contract awarded to another company only two years before and it had invested to provide the service. In the 1990s Victoria was the Wild West of radical economic reform and there were a number of scandals relating to privatisation. Health care was one victim.
The tendering process for this contract was strongly criticised. Even some of those on the committee had their concerns.
VVPS director Judith Slocomb said they would use the Gribbles infrastructure to provide veterinary pathology services in Bendigo, Seymour, Shepparton, Kyneton, Wangaratta, Mildura, Benalla, Bairnsdale and Warrnambool. But there are no Gribbles human pathology labs in Benalla and Bairnsdale.
Nov 1996 Gribbles wins contract
CENTAUR CLOSES UP Weekly Times November 6, 1996
Victoria's animal testing services have been thrown into turmoil by the closure of the company behind the State Government's first big privatisation project.
Nov 1996 Immediate consequences
Centaur International Pty Ltd called in administrators on 31 October after it lost its two-year-old contract to run the state's four rural veterinary pathology labs. It is believed to have debts of between $2 million and $3 million.
Labs Shutdown Disables Vets The Age November 12, 1996
The Opposition Leader, Mr John Brumby, said yesterday that the decision to award the contract to VVPS was extraordinary given that it had yet to be accredited internationally for antibiotic residue testing of animals.
Jan 1997 An extraordinary decision?
Tendering Process Attacked The Age January 13, 1997
In a decision that divided the Tender Assessment Committee, the Government awarded the two-year $2.2 million contract to Victorian Veterinary Pathology Services and Gribbles Pathology in October.
Jan 1997 The committee also divided
Documents obtained by The Age under the Freedom of Information Act show that a senior Victorian Farmers Federation executive and panel member, Mr Tony St Clair, expressed reservations about the decision.
Livestock Test Unit Backed The Age January 14, 1997
Gribbles recently announced that it has acquired the remaining 50% interest in Victorian Veterinary Pathology Services. Settlement occurred on 1st July 2001. The name of the business has subsequently changed to Gribbles Veterinary Pathology.
Sep 2001 Gribbles buys all of VVPS
Preliminary Final Report. Australian Stock Exchange Company Announcements September 17, 2001
It is difficult to speculate as to what political influence Gribbles might have had and if this played any part in the process. Matheson who still owned half of Gribbles was heavily criticised in parliament. These critics linked him to the Kennett government. Trish Worth worked for Gribbles and the federal coalition government was about to be elected. She later became parliamentary secretary for health.
I have suggested that certain personality characteristics are associated with success in the health care corporate marketplace and that the system seems to select for these people. I have suggested they are not well suited for this sector.
Usually highly intelligent they tend to be supremely self-confident and have no doubts. They use their intelligence to rationalise and justify their position rather than challenge their preconceptions. They can be very persistent in this. They have a tendency to look past the views of others and ignore conflicting evidence. Most shield themselves from challenge by avoiding publicity. They surround themselves with yes men.
They are often charismatic and very persuasive in their dealings with others and are liked and admired. They can be demanding and ruthless in dealing with their staff and critics. They ridicule and attack their critics and defend their own position aggressively, often through the courts. Many come from less privileged background and have made themselves successful the hard way. Their single mindedness, drive, dedication and commitment bring them success.
In addition to the many US examples, I have suggested that some of Australia's entrepreneurs have some of these characteristics. I have invited visitors to this web site to look at Edelsten, McGoldrick, Wenkart, Catchlove, Smedley, and Bateman. All have played leading but controversial roles in the corporatisation of health care in Australia.
This would therefore be a good place to stop and look at Cameron the man. There is much that can be inferred from the accounts on this web page of his career and that of the company he built up. There are a few press reports that also give more insight into the man.
PERSONAL
2004 Outline of career
Born: Melbourne, 1944
Married: wife Joan, and he has seven children.
EDUCATION
Tertiary qualifications: Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Commerce, Master of Business Administration and Master of Letters
EMPLOYMENT
1970s and 1980s: Tax barrister practising in Victoria.
1987: Acquired Gribbles in a partnership with poker machine entrepreneur Bruce Mathieson.
A canny Cameron takes a new shot at Gribbles The Age July 3, 2004
The first Dafydd Lewis Trust scholarships were awarded for the university year of 1943, and since then 874 have been awarded. One of the recipients in 1962 was Wallace Cameron, who studied law and commerce at Melbourne University; he is now the managing director of Gribbles Pathology.
2000 Childhood and education
Mr Cameron was brought up by his mother and grandmother in circumstances he describes as ``rather tough''. The first in his family ever to go to university, he found the Dafydd Lewis scholarship particularly good because ``there was more mentoring involved. You had a person you could relate to and speak to.''
A Helping Hand For Bright Boys The Age November 29, 2000
Medical Care Services (soon to be called Gribbles Group) boss Wallace Cameron has been on the road with analysts and fund managers, and from what we hear is impressing with his strategy.
2001 Impressive presenter
Street Talk : Gribbles road shows Australian Financial Review May 10, 2001
Similarly low-profile Wallace Cameron would not discuss his holdings in Gribbles or offer any comment on his role as a leading medical entrepreneur.
2001 Publicity shy but aggressive in objectives
While personally shunning publicity, Bateman and Cameron have both been aggressive in their dealings with the health authorities. Both have been involved in extended legal tussles with government medical bodies often in cases initiated by the entrepreneurs themselves.
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Cameron's Gribbles now faces the prospect of potentially damaging public hearings over allegations the company indirectly provided free staff as an inducement to doctors, also in the mid-1990s. Gribbles strongly denies the claims.
The Rise And Rise Of Medicare Millionaires Australian Financial Review November 20, 2001
Wallace Cameron is also publicity-shy when it comes to discussing his wealth and his interest in Gribbles. His stake in the pathology and medical centre company is difficult to assess. In Gribbles' 2001 financial report, under director's interests, there are no shares listed in his name. He is believed to control about 40% of Gribbles through a Netherlands company, EC Medical Investments.
2002 Making his own rules
Gribbles is the most aggressive of the pathology companies in Australia.
Health is wealth. Business Review Weekly May 23, 2002
They have even been known to walk away from a deal rather than pay too much.
2002 He says it!
"Anyone who knows me knows I am a fairly mean man."
Well, he (Cameron) said it.
He's fairly mean, that Gribbles boss The Age November 22, 2002
Notoriously publicity-shy Wallace Cameron seems to be about to reclaim the company he founded. Fleur Leyden reports.
Jul 2004 About Cameron
His photo has never appeared in the annual report of the pathology company he created. He didn't turn up at last year's annual meeting because he was "ill". His enigmatic status leads to tales about his office being off limits and only accessible with a special key.
Then there was the long, unexplained absence from the company in the lead-up to his resignation.
Laying eyes on Wallace Cameron, founder and former managing director of Gribbles Group, is considered a rarity.
"We really don't know anything about Wallace Cameron," says Peter Constable, joint chief investment officer at MMC Asset Management.
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Probably one of the few Australians ever to be sued by the Swiss Bank Corporation, it appears Cameron knows how to fight.
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Born in Melbourne 59 years ago, Cameron resides in Brighton's Moule Avenue, one of Melbourne's swishest locales, with residents including John Ilhan of Crazy John's fame.
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His car of choice is a dark green Rolls Royce, although he's not known to drive. His secretary used to drive him to work in the vehicle.Described by one observer as a "thickset Collingwood six-footer", Cameron has a neatly trimmed grey beard, a steadfast and direct manner, and he ensured the Gribbles boardroom was decorated with St Kilda Football Club memorabilia.
St Kilda claims Cameron, a lifetime supporter and former club board member, has been a strong financial backer of the club, even before Gribbles became an official sponsor two years ago.
The club's chief executive, Brian Waldron, says Cameron regularly takes his family to the games, or he attends in his corporate box.
Waldron describes him as "warm and understanding" and "an absolute gentlemen to deal with. He's very supportive of the coach (Grant Thomas)," says Waldron.
"He's very understanding that we are trying to rebuild our business and rebrand ourselves."
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Cameron's hands-on management style has won him friends and enemies.He is described by some colleagues as a "benevolent dictator" on one hand, and a visionary on the other, particularly for his foresight in molecular biology research and his recruitment of star scientists to the company.
One close friend said Cameron accurately predicted five years out from the current consolidation in the health-care sector, that Peter Smedley's approach for Mayne, which centralised control and stripped the hospitals of any autonomy, would come unstuck.
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His critics argue that at times he is "fast and loose with the numbers" - Gribbles turned its last half-year interim result from a loss to a profit, helped by its method of booking intangibles. Others say Cameron would always let a deal go by rather than pay too much."He lives close to the wire but always comes (out in front)," says one associate.
A canny Cameron takes a new shot at Gribbles The Age July 3, 2004
People who know Wallace Cameron will attest to the man's tenacity, cunning and outright determination to get his way come what may. Cameron cut his teeth in business as an expert barrister specialising in taxation issues, and if there's anyone who knows how to handle himself in a corporate b
Oct 2004 Getting his own way