Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Bigtincan in the doghouse with shareholders over PE playbook

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Alongside numerous equity raises, Bigtincan also sought a $15 million loan from its largest institutional shareholder – Regal Funds Management – in July 2023 which came with a 12 per cent interest rate and discounted options.

Unhappy bunch

With the shares now trading at around a record low of 10¢, Street Talk has heard from a range of shareholders who are deeply disappointed with the company’s response to its many approaches and spoke of a breakdown between the board and its major investors. While business performance has fluctuated, shareholders place blame for the share price’s collapse squarely at the feet of the board and a sense that it’s unwilling to seriously engage with bidders.

Street Talk put these concerns to the Bigtincan board and pushed for a response, but our requests were ignored.

While some shareholders believe the business would be better off in the hands of private equity, putting them out of their misery, others want to see it fixed first to secure a better price, placing the onus on the board to make hard decisions about management and future direction.

Unhappy shareholders, who are understood to be working hard behind the scenes, will next have the opportunity to voice their concerns at the company’s annual general meeting later this year.

Last year’s AGM wasn’t a pretty scene with almost 80 per cent of voters (including proxies) voting down the remuneration report. Should this year be a repeat, the board will face a spill under the two-strike rule.

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