RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:Harvard Biz School case study...with emphasis on BS I would imagine class action lawyers would be all over this. All that would be required would be a lead plaintiff. Sounds perfect for Aimiaturd ;-)
DaneOddments wrote: That is rather stunning news, that a new private equity firm (Paladin) loses 2 of its 3 partners roughly 1 year after being seeded with $400 mil. + of Aimia's money on unimaginably favorable terms for Paladin. I guess we have to presume Paladin is now not likely to exercise their options to buy 20% of Tufropes and Bozzetto before the deadline in early May, one of the potential positive catalysts I was hoping for. Hopefully that's a faulty presumption on my part, but hard to infer things going well there given those departures.
I think it's time that Aimia let shareholders know which investment bank(s?) took home the $30 mil. in transaction fees paid in 2023 on Tufropes (they called some of it "success fees" in a recent filing, lol) and Bozzetto deals and the add ons which altogether comprised a gift of more than $400 mil. in AUM to Paladin.
It's strange that Aimia did not disclose the name of their financial advisor, and no financial advisors claimed involvement, on any of those transactions. They disclosed the fees, but not who received them. Various law firms bragged about their involvement, but the financial advisors kept silent.
Was it Jefferies (Aimia's go-to bank since 2020, and key Jefferies people led the Aimia private placement for $32 mil.)? Maybe Jefferies asked Aimia to keep their name a secret out of shame?
Seriously, you usually see investment banks proudly proclaim their involvement in transactions. Here it's all been hidden. Why? Is there some relationship between Paladin and Jefferies? Looks that way to me. Paladin founder Tariq Osman used to be on the board of a concrete pumping company controlled by former Jefferies head of investment banking Brent Stevens, and they both signed a shareholder agreement so they clearly were working together, and Jefferies was a lender: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1703956/000143774919006262/ex_139553.htm
I'm no lawyer but I agree with the other poster here and can imagine every director who signed off on Aimia giving over $400 mil. to a start-up private equity fund, and getting zero stake in the GP in return (unprecedented I think) for that seeding capital, being sued for breach of fiduciary duty and corporate waste.
And I can imagine Aimia's unnamed investment bank on the Paladin giftings, most likely Jefferies, being sued for aiding and abetting those breaches, and then taking advantage of the ensuing chaos by allowing their people to buy Aimia's stock in the private placement at half of book value and taking control of the board in the process. Neat trick if in fact Jefferies was the secret advisor. Will we ever know? It might be revealed in the court filings, but I'm not sure how to get access to those in Canada.
Maybe via legal redress Aimia can recoup $100 mil. or so that way ($30 mil. in transaction costs plus $70 mil. in damages), paid for by Jefferies and Aimia's D&O insurers. Or maybe I'm just a bitter bagholder whining into the uncaring ether while I stubbornly refuse to take this loss...
Oh, and when is the AGM? And where is Mithaq's slate? What kind of CEO can they hope to get in the midst of such uncertainty? Are they working on a settlement and that's the reason for the delay? Otherwise both sides seem to be bumbling, and maybe they are all just too inexperienced or overwhelmed to get things done in the normal timeframe. I don't even know who to root for at this point...
Whoever ends up in control, this thing needs a complete reboot. Go back to the original game plan, sell everything and reinvest in Canada and the U.S., where the tax assets reside. And cut costs. Holdco costs are $15 mil. per year, should be $10 mil. And stop paying Paladin $500K per year (for what?), and stop paying former directors consulting fees (for what???!!!).
This thing could still be such a great acquisition vehicle in the right hands. And if no such hands show up, then liquidate it and give us our $4 or $5 in cash and we'll be on our way.