A FORMER Liberal leader, Andrew Peacock, is a shrewd operator of...

A FORMER Liberal leader, Andrew Peacock, is a shrewd operator of the political process. A man who knows when the numbers are stacked against him. A man who knows when to fold.

So it has come as no surprise Peacock has decided to ''retire'' as the chairman of Amadeus Energy after a face-off with the group holding 2.65 per cent of the company, CVC Limited (not to be confused with the private equity group that has dud investments such as Stella Group and PBL Media).

After some rants from CVC's managing director, Sandy Beard, over Amadeus's plans to raise $25 million in a private placement that would dilute existing shareholders by 50 per cent, Peacock finally buckled yesterday.

In a statement to the market, Amadeus said a vacancy had suddenly appeared on its board for Beard following Peacock's decision to step down, along with another director, Caroline Bentley. Apparently, ahem, Peacock ''had previously indicated his wish to retire at this time''. The company additionally announced plans to replace its managing director, Geoff Towner.

Amadeus also relented by announcing why it actually wanted to raise the $25 million (to buy a company based in Wichita, Kansas, called TNT Engineering) and that it would also allow its current shareholders to participate in the raising via a share purchase plan.