Nanoco Group announced on Tuesday that it will be holding a general meeting on August 14th, as requested by shareholders. However, the company is advising its shareholders to vote against the resolutions to remove the entire board, including the chairman, CEO, CFO, and CTO.
In late July, Nanoco Group received a notice from Aurora Nominees and Securities Services Nominees, who are seeking to appoint directors proposed by themselves. This request comes after two letters from Tariq Hamoodi, a shareholder owning 4.23% of the company’s shares, in March and May.
Back in March, Nanoco acknowledged a public letter that expressed corporate-governance concerns. The company rejected these concerns, which raised issues relating to actions and activities involving Nanoco, as well as minority shareholders Richard Griffiths and Lombard Odier Asset Management (Europe).
Emphasizing that the proposed resolutions are not in the best interest of the shareholders, Nanoco stated that they would essentially result in a complete change of control without any takeover premium being paid.
The board has gained support from Christopher Mills, founder, director, CEO, and CIO of Harwood Capital, a 3% shareholder in Nanoco Group. Mills believes that accepting the requisitionists’ proposals would jeopardize the significant potential value within Nanoco’s organic business. He also warns that it could transform the company into a speculative litigation shell and risk losing future value to third parties.
Nanoco’s CEO, Brian Tenner, commented on the situation stating, “The requisitionists’ proposals would destroy the significant potential value within Nanoco’s organic business and risk turning Nanoco into a highly speculative litigation shell company, whilst also risking the majority of future value being lost to third parties.”
