Bubs Australia shares slump over 9% as minority shareholders seek board overhaul

Bubs Australia

22/06/2023 04:20

June 22 (Reuters) - A group of minority shareholders of
Bubs Australia  BUB.AX  on Thursday called for an extraordinary
meeting to vote out the current board of directors citing
"destruction" of the company, sending the infant formula maker's
shares plunging more than 9%.
    The group of shareholders, which controls 5.04% of the
company, is seeking to remove all the four non-executive
directors in a campaign dubbed "Save Our Bubs". It has nominated
former a2 Milk Asia head Peter Nathan to be the new Bubs CEO.
    "The concerned shareholders have requested the EGM
(extraordinary general meeting) because they believe Katrina
Rathie, Steve Lin, Paul Jensen and Reg Weine lack relevant
experience and are presiding over the destruction of our great
company," the shareholders said in a statement.
    "The current board summarily sacked top executives and lost
the support of Bubs' founder, taking control of the board and
management without a transition plan for a new CEO, CFO or
business strategy."
    In May, CEO Kristy Carr was fired for allegedly failing to
comply with "reasonable board directions", according to media
reports. Carr sued Bubs alleging wrongful termination, the
reports added.
    The group of shareholders is backing James Jackson for the
non-executive chairman position, which incumbent Katrina Rathie
hopes to retain.
    Bubs Australia has recommended its shareholders vote against
the removal of current directors and oppose the appointment of
directors proposed by the dissenting group at a meeting on July
27.
    Shares of Bubs were down 2.6%, as of 0224 GMT, after falling
as much as 9.2% earlier in the day, with more than 2.7 million
shares changing hands.
    

 (Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by
Subhranshu Sahu)
 ((Rishav.Chatterjee@thomsonreuters.com;))