Nanoco shareholders resoundingly reject rebels’ bid to oust board
A bid by disgruntled shareholders to oust the board of Runcorn tech company, Nanoco, has been resoundingly rejected by shareholders.
Tariq Hamoodi had called on senior management to step down, claiming the Manchester University spin-out company gave misleading information on settlement prospects in its recent successful IP litigation with South Korean electronics giant, Samsung.
He requisitioned a General Meeting, that was held this afternoon (August 14), where 12 resolutions put forward by him were emphatically voted down, with more than 80% support for the current board in all resolutions.
Prior to the meeting two shareholders, Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services, indicated that they would side with the board and vote against the proposals.
Christopher Richards, non-executive chairman of Nanoco, said “I would like to thank shareholders for their overwhelming support for the board in rejecting all of the requisitionists’ resolutions by such strong margins.
“As a board, we are always open to scrutiny and critique.
“We recognise that the requisitionists’ actions and unfounded allegations have caused damage to perceptions of Nanoco and its value.
“The actions of the requisitionists have been value destructive for shareholders in that they have required a significant amount of management time, time which should have been spent running the business and generating value for shareholders.”
He added: “The board has always striven to act in the best interests of all shareholders and will continue to do so.
“Going forward we will respond to shareholder feedback by further improving our communications, adding new electronics sector experience to the board, while delivering increases in shareholder value.
“The business is in a better position than it’s ever been.
“The organic business is at an exciting inflection point, with funding underpinned by the litigation proceeds.
“We are actively pursuing further licencing activity, with our position strengthened by the validation of our IP in the Samsung litigation process. We have also committed to returning up to £40m of the net litigation proceeds to shareholders in February 2024.
“We thank shareholders for their confidence in the group’s board and strategy and look forward to updating you later in the year.”
Nanoco, which develops materials used in the manufacture of monitors and TV screens, was awarded $150m in a US court in February this year in a long-running legal battle with Samsung, over infringements of its intellectual property.
During the case the company identified other possible infringements in Germany and China, and its team of advisers is now considering potential legal action.
