Courts on Tuesday granted pyroGenesis' CEO the tool he needed to identify the perpetrators of negative posts about the Montreal-based company on a popular discussion forum.
The big boss of PyroGenesis, Peter Pascali, asked the Superior Court of Quebec to issue a Norwich-type order to get the Stockhouse site to provide him with information about the people who hide behind pseudonyms to discredit him and the company he runs.
Permission was granted Tuesday after a morning hearing.
PyroGenesis has been the target since the beginning of the year of allegations that it considers defamatory by users of the forum under the pseudonyms Dividends, Zaphod, NoRetire, EtheGreat and Breizh1.
One message was notably topped with the mention "Wolf of Wall Street", says a legal document.
FRAUD CHARGES
The author of this message claimed that PyroGenesis had no value, and that the company reminded him of the penny stock foamed by the ex-bandit with tie Jordan Belfort (played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the film The Wolf of Wall Street) while the company associated with this penny stock was in fact a shed at the bottom of a courtyard.
In a message published in the spring, a Stockhouse user targeted by the request wonders if the title is a fraud.
According to a motion filed in court, another message published in the spring suggests that PyroGenesis and Peter Pascali hire people solely for the purpose of manipulating investors with a reference to "paid pumpers".
The management of PyroGenesis asked Stockhouse in May to remove messages it deems false and to provide information (names, emails, IP addresses, etc.) to identify their authors.
Stockhouse responded in June that a court order was needed to reveal the identity of the perpetrators.
PyroGenesis' management argues that the allegations published on Stockhouse cause it harm, suggest that the company is "siphoning off investors' money", and that the messages posted on the forum undermine shareholder confidence and could even cause financial losses.
While hedge funds, such as Muddy Waters and Greenlight Capital, sometimes use "aggressive tactics," Concordia University professor and governance expert Michel Magnan believes that in the case of PyroGenesis, it is "more unclear" who is ultimately behind the messages on Stockhouse.
Based in Griffintown, PyroGense presents itself as a technology company that develops and markets industrial plasma processes. Its shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and nasdaq.
The company's stock migrated from the TSX Venture Exchange to the Toronto Stock Exchange in late 2020.
350% OVER THREE YEARS
PyroGenesis' stock went from a value below $1 in 2020 to over $12 last year before falling back to its current price of just under $2. At this level, the market gives a value of about 325 million to the company.
TMX Group last week released its "TSX 30," a list of companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange with the best three-year stock market performance. PyroGenesis ranked ninth with a yield of more than 350% over three years.
PyroGenesis last month reported revenue of $5.8 million and reported a loss for the second quarter of its fiscal year. The company's largest shareholder is Peter Pascali with an approximate 47% stake. It was not possible to speak to him on Tuesday.
Determining the perpetrators is just one step among several potential steps we are undertaking, which may or may not include legal action against them or others, management said in an email.