At the AGM on Friday, the proposed new name, Wollemi Energy, was voted down and non-executive director Robert Carroll was not re-elected to the board. More than 35 per cent of shareholders also voted against the re-election of chairman Michael Knight.

The company had expected all resolutions to pass based on the proxies, but representatives for large blocks of shares showed up in person to stop Carroll’s re-election and the name change.

Sydney Gas has not received any substantial shareholder notices, which are required when the relevant interest of a party and any associates exceeds 5%.

But the company started to have suspicions earlier this month that something was wrong when some shareholdings suddenly shifted from one nominee holding to another, The Australian newspaper reported today.

Sydney Gas began sending out section 672 tracing notices in an attempt to establish the identity of the beneficial owners.

The company and its lawyers have asked the ASX to help investigate and to ensure proper substantial holding notices have been lodged. The company expects to begin trading again once the matter has been settled.

But settling this issue could take some time and could require a series of trading halts. The shareholdings could be held through companies incorporated in foreign jurisdictions where disclosure is not mandatory.