Voxtur Analytics Corp. (TSXV: VXTR; OTCQB: VXTRF)
(“
Voxtur” or the “
Company”), a
North American technology company creating a more transparent and
accessible real estate lending ecosystem, acknowledges the recent
announcement by a group of activist shareholders, led by US-based
private equity fund Rice Park Capital Management LP (“
Rice
Park”), and receipt of director nominees (the
“
Private Equity Nominees”) for the upcoming Annual
General and Special Meeting of shareholders (the
“
AGM”) scheduled for Friday, June 28, 2024, at
9:00 AM (Eastern Time). The Company is currently reviewing the
materials disseminated by Rice Park, but wishes to address its
concerns around this development and reiterate its commitment to
shareholder value, long-term strategy, and transparency.
The Private Equity Nominees Have Put
Forward No Credible Plan
Despite seeking full control of the Voxtur Board
of Directors (“Board”) from shareholders, the
Private Equity Nominees have not provided any specific nor credible
plan, pointing only to a vague strategic plan, operational
enhancements, and a strategic review.
The Company has already been diligently
executing a comprehensive strategy aimed at enhancing long-term
shareholder value that it believes is in the best interests of all
shareholders of Voxtur (“Voxtur Shareholders”).
Over the past fourteen months, the Company has implemented several
initiatives, including:
-
Strategic Operational Enhancements: Focused
efforts on streamlining operations, reducing costs, eliminating
debt, and improving efficiency to boost profitability. In fact,
since May 2023, the Company reduced operating expenses by
approximately $9.5 million CAD annualized and in the last quarter
of fiscal 2023, the Company reduced term debt by approximately $23
million CAD.
-
Strategic Plan: In January 2024, the Company
engaged a reputable North American bank to conduct a strategic
asset review to identify opportunities for value creation (the
“Financial Advisor”), which Nicholas Smith (a
Private Equity Nominee) supported while he was Chairman of the
Board. Furthermore, the outcome agreed to by the Board at the time
was to materially reduce the Company’s debt which would ultimately
unlock shareholder value. Under the Company’s current plans, it is
expected that debt will be materially reduced by the end of this
fiscal year or sooner. Engaging a second strategic review just six
months later and while the existing Financial Advisor is engaged
would be an unnecessary, costly, and unwelcome distraction as
Voxtur focuses on its execution.
-
Innovative Growth Initiatives: Investment in new
technologies, products, and markets to drive sustainable growth and
competitive advantage. A cornerstone to this initiative is the
technology solutions that Blue Water provides. Despite the
underwhelming performance and material financial drain that Blue
Water has had on the Company since the time of acquisition,
Management has remained committed to and confident in the immense
potential that Blue Water has. We have continued to invest in the
development of Blue Water’s technology solutions and are confident
that as market conditions turn, this investment will become a
turning point for the company and will provide material value to
shareholders.
The activist shareholder group is in essence
attempting to affect a “no premium” takeover of control of the
board disguised by a repurposed plan that is already being advanced
by the Board. Voxtur Shareholders should be deeply wary of
providing control of the board to the Private Equity Nominees at
this opportunistic point in time, as the Company’s turnaround is
beginning to take shape.
Concerns About Private Equity Nominees’
Multiple Conflicts of Interest and Efforts to Gain Control of
Voxtur Without Paying a Premium
Voxtur Shareholders should be aware that the
Private Equity Nominees are not aligned with other shareholders.
The Company has reason to believe that nearly all of the Private
Equity Nominees proposed as directors are engaged in activities
that are in direct competition with the Company.
Prior to his resignation as a director of the
Company, the Board expressed concerns on multiple occasions to Mr.
Smith (as did Al Qureshi, who is now one of the Private Equity
Nominees!) regarding Mr. Smith’s conflicts of interest and he was
encouraged by the Board to seek independent legal advice regarding
his conflict of interest and the potential legal consequences of
him failing to declare such conflicts of interest. Shortly after
being told to seek such advice, Mr. Smith - presumably on the basis
of advice received – abruptly informed the Board that he would be
resigning.
Mr. Qureshi approached the Board in early 2024
with a proposal for Mr. Qureshi and a purported financial backer of
his to acquire Voxtur. The Company, along with its Financial
Advisor determined that the offer was not credible and
undervalued.
Furthermore, Rice Park (a former major
shareholder of Voxtur’s wholly-owned subsidiaries, Blue Water
Financial Technologies, LLC, and Blue Water Financial Technologies
Services, LLC (collectively “Blue Water”)), along
with Mr. Smith, (former Chairman of the Board, a senior advisor to
Blue Water and current Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer
of Rice Park), Chris Bixby (Managing Director, Rice Park), Jeffrey
Hilligoss (Senior Advisor to Blue Water) and Mr. Qureshi, (current
President of Blue Water) have all had business dealings with each
other in the past and have a connection to Blue Water, a prized
asset of Voxtur which they sold to Voxtur in 2022. The activist
shareholder group is acting “jointly and in concert” and
transparently attempting to take control of Blue Water, via Voxtur,
without paying shareholders a control premium. It appears the
intention of the activist shareholder group is to acquire control
over Voxtur without any payment to Voxtur Shareholders as they now
see the true potential in Blue Water after Voxtur’s investment post
acquisition. This is all the more troubling given Mr. Smith’s
reckless conduct which could potentially, if he is successful, push
Voxtur into insolvency and allow him and his associates to acquire
the assets of Voxtur at a significant discount and leave
shareholders high and dry – see “Concerns About Debt
Covenant Provisions” below.
Concerns About Illegal Use of Insider
Information and Breach of Securities Laws
The Company will be investigating the Private
Equity Nominees who may have engaged in the inappropriate use of
material non-public information and insider knowledge to further
their opportunistic, no premium takeover. The Company takes this
matter very seriously and is committed to determining the extent of
any inappropriate use of confidential company information and
material non-public information and reserves all legal options to
protect the Company from the misuse of this information.
“We are deeply concerned about the potential
misuse of insider information and are taking all necessary steps to
protect the integrity of our operations and the interests of our
shareholders,” said Chair and Interim CEO Gary Yeoman. “We are
confident that our ongoing initiatives are the right course of
action and are fully committed to upholding the highest standards
of corporate governance.”
Rice Park, and Messrs. Smith, Hilligoss,
Qureshi, Neel and Holthus may also be acting “jointly and in
concert” in respect of the 19.3% of the Shares disclosed in the
June 19 press release issued by the group of undisclosed
shareholders led by Rice Park, as they have had prior business
dealings, directly or indirectly, through mutually known persons
and have admitted in the information document that they intend to
cause all of the shares of the Company owned and/or controlled by
them to be voted at the Meeting. This group claims to be the
“Voxtur Shareholders for Accountability,” do the Voxtur
Shareholders not deserve transparency as to who else forms part of
this group, including whether the former CEO of Voxtur, Jim
Albertelli, is part of this group?
Concerns over lack of Canadian Public
Company Experience, Lack of Qualifications and Troubling Track
Record
In order to act as a director of a TSX Venture
Exchange listed Company the TSX Venture Exchange considers a number
of factors including sufficient public company experience in
Canada.
None of the Private Equity Nominees proposed by
Rice Park have experience as directors of a Canadian public
company, (other than Mr. Smith, who has limited experience), nor
have they been approved by the TSX Venture Exchange to act as
directors, to the knowledge of the Company. With little to no
experience in Canadian capital markets, absence of evidence of TSX
Venture Exchange approval for the Private Equity Nominees to act as
officers and directors of a public company and based on the
existing public track record, serious questions should be raised
about their ability to govern appropriately and in the best
interest of all shareholders – especially given their conflicts of
interest.
Rice Park proposes that Mr. Hilligoss serve as
the Chair of the Audit Committee and as the Independent Chair, a
position of leadership on the board. Mr. Hilligoss was terminated1
by his former employer, Cargill Financial Services Corporation for,
among other reasons: (i) the substantial losses
Cargill experienced as a result of investment under his
responsibility, (ii) his lack of leadership
(evidenced by a trip to Hawaii and upcoming trip to Bermuda at a
time when the investment was experiencing serious problems) and
(iii) engaging in conduct that created a conflict of
interest based on communications he had with an outside
entity regarding the potential sale of the investment. Shareholders
should give serious pause as to whether Mr. Hilligoss’ judgement is
suitable to serve on the Voxtur board at all, let alone as its
Independent Chair and Audit Chair.
Concerns About Debt Covenant
Provisions
Voxtur Shareholders should be aware that certain
covenants in the Company’s credit agreements contain provisions
that deem a “change of control” to be an event of default. Surely
Mr. Smith, as former Chair of the Board, is aware that the proposed
changes to the Board would constitute a “change of control” and
trigger an event of default, risking the Company’s solvency and
putting the investment of all Voxtur Shareholders at risk. Voxtur
Shareholders should ask whether Mr. Smith’s actions are careless,
reckless, or opportunistic and to further the true aims of Rice
Park and its associates to acquire Voxtur’s assets at a significant
discount and to eliminate a competitor.
Concerns About Potential Non-Compliant
Proxy Solicitation Process and Intimidation
The Company has been advised that the proxy
solicitation process undertaken by the activist shareholder group
may be in violation of securities laws. The Company is also
investigating these potential transgressions to ensure shareholders
and the director election process are protected.
The Company is also deeply alarmed by reports
that Voxtur Shareholders and supporters have received threats of
legal action from legal counsel representing the dissident
shareholder group in an effort to silence any criticism of the
Private Equity Nominees, and potentially coerce Voxtur Shareholders
from supporting the incumbent Board and management of Voxtur. These
are troubling actions in just the first 24 hours of Rice Park’s
campaign. If they treat shareholders like this now, can you imagine
how they would treat the minority shareholders if they acquired
control of Voxtur?
Act Now to Protect Your Investment –
Vote Today
The deadline to submit proxy votes in advance of
the meeting is June 26, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. (Eastern Time). The
Company urges shareholders to REJECT the
conflicted Private Equity Nominees and vote FOR
each of the Voxtur director nominees: Gary Yeoman, Michael Harris,
Ray Williams, and Allan Bezanson.
If you have questions or require assistance with
voting, please contact Voxtur’s proxy solicitation agent, Laurel
Hill Advisory Group by telephone at 1-877-452-7184 (toll-free in
North America), or +1 416-304-0211 (outside North America), or
email at assistance@laurelhill.com.
For more information, please visit Voxtur.com or
contact Jordan Ross at jordan@voxtur.com.
About Voxtur
Voxtur is a transformational real estate
technology company that is redefining industry standards in a
dynamic lending environment. The Company offers targeted data
analytics to simplify the multifaceted aspects of the lending
lifecycle for investors, lenders, government agencies and
servicers. Voxtur's proprietary data hub and workflow platforms
more accurately and efficiently value assets, originate and service
loans, and securitize portfolios. As an independent and transparent
mortgage technology provider, the Company offers primary and
secondary market solutions in the United States and Canada. For
more information, visit www.voxtur.com.
Neither TSXV nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV)
accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains forward-looking
statements and forward-looking information (collectively,
“forward-looking information”). Any information
contained herein that is not based on historical facts may be
deemed to constitute forward-looking information within the meaning
of Canadian and United States securities laws. Forward-looking
information may be based on expectations, estimates and projections
as at the date of this news release, and may be identified by the
words “may”, “would”, “could”, “should”, “will”, “intend”, “plan”,
“anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect” or similar
expressions. Forward-looking information may include, but is not
limited to: the completion of the Issuance; approval of the
Issuance by the TSXV; expectations for the effects of certain
milestones or the ability of the Company to successfully achieve
certain business objectives; the effects of unexpected costs,
liabilities or delays; success of software activities; regulatory
approval; the competition for skilled personnel; expectations for
other economic, business, environmental, regulatory and/or
competitive factors related to the Company, or the real estate
industry generally; anticipated future production costs; and other
events or conditions that may occur in the future. Investors are
cautioned that forward-looking information is not based on
historical facts but instead reflects estimates or projections
concerning future results or events based on the opinions,
assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at
the date the information is provided. Although the Company believes
that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking information
are reasonable, such information involves risks and uncertainties,
and undue reliance should not be placed on such information, as
unknown or unpredictable factors could have material adverse
effects on future results, performance, or achievements of the
Company. Among the key factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking
information include but are not limited to: additional costs
related to acquisitions; ; integration of acquired businesses;
implementation of new products; changing global financial
conditions, especially in light of the COVID-19 global pandemic;
reliance on specific key employees and customers to maintain
business operations; competition within the Company's industry; a
risk in technological failure or failure to implement technological
upgrades in accordance with expected timelines; changing market
conditions; failure of governing agencies and regulatory bodies to
approve the use of products and services developed by the Company;
the Company’s dependence on maintaining intellectual property and
protecting newly developed intellectual property; operating losses
and negative cash flows; and currency fluctuations. Accordingly,
readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
information contained herein.
This forward-looking information is provided as
of the date of this news release and, accordingly, is subject to
change after such date. The Company does not assume any obligation
to update or revise this information to reflect new events or
circumstances except as required in accordance with applicable
laws.
Voxtur's common shares are traded on the TSX
Venture Exchange under the symbol VXTR and in the US on the OTCQB
under the symbol VXTRF.
For media inquiries:
Jacob GaffneyTel: (817)
471-7627jacob@gaffneyaustin.com
For shareholder inquiries:
Laurel Hill Advisory GroupToll-free: 1-877-452-7184 (North
America)Collect calls outside North America: +1
416-304-0211assistance@laurelhill.com
_____________________1 Hilligoss v. Cargill, Inc. Supreme Court
of Minnesota C4-01-632, C6-01-227 649 N.W.2d 142 *; 2002 Minn.
LEXIS 505 **
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