1-Page shareholders vote out Joanna Riley in final chapter of six-month feud
http://www.copyright link/content/dam/images/g/v/z/p/3/x/image.related.afrArticleLead.620x350.gw4ytc.png/1494830467170.jpg
1-Page founder Joanna Riley was voted off the board by shareholders on Monday. Dominic Lorrimer
by Yolanda Redrup
1-Page shareholders have voted to close down the business and turn it into a shell, putting an end to the long-running battle between the board and co-founder Joanna Riley and former chief executive Peter Kent.
Ms Riley has been voted off the 1-Page board, while Andrew Chapman, John Fennelly, Tod McGrouther and Michael Shen have kept their positions.
Mr Chapman, who is also a director of Merchant Funds Management, told The Australian Financial Review the board would move quickly to shut down and sell off the assets of the company, while also scouting for a new tech company to complete a backdoor listing.
"We won't sit around for 12 months on a cash pile; we're going to move quickly," he said.
"From the point of view of the board, the majority of us have skin in the game that we've paid for. I'd love to see an Australian company utilising the cash and creating Australian jobs and I've said that from day one."
The major tension between the board and Ms Riley and Mr Kent was over the cash burn rate of 1-Page, which had spent more than $26 million in net cash in two years, while revenue growth struggled.
It was a convincing win for the 1-Page board, with 75.2 million votes in favour of removing Ms Riley from the board, versus 30.5 million against. In total, about 65 per cent of 1-Page's shareholder base voted.
A joint statement by Ms Riley and Mr Kent said: "While we are disappointed with today's result, we acknowledge and respect the decision 1-Page shareholders have made. We wish to thank those who supported us in our campaign to change the board, and continue the company's investment in 1-Page's recruitment technology business.
"We continue to believe in 1-Page's technology and opportunity".
1-Page first started trading on the ASX in October 2014 and at its high point it reached a price of $5.69, with a market capitalisation of $726.2 million. But the stock tumbled as quickly as it climbed and the stock has been suspended since March at 16.5¢, below its issue price of 20¢.
Mr Chapman said that if the backdoor listing company it found to use its shell did not require the leftover capital from 1-Page (it has $8.32 million in cash and $22.43 million in financial assets) then shareholders would have the offer to do a share buyback.
One of the company's immediate tasks though will be to respond to claims by Ms Riley and Mr Kent over the past few weeks that it had been releasing incorrect information on 1-Page's financial results to the ASX. Mr Chapman denied this, but said the company would likely do another ASX Aware Letter because Ms Riley had "poisoned the ASX" with her claims.
The shareholder meeting itself was said to be formal, if not quite cordial, with no direct contact between Mr Chapman and Mr McGrouther, who were representing the board, and Ms Riley or Mr Kent.
When asked if he had a final message for Mr Kent or Ms Riley, Mr Chapman said he had nothing against them.
"I think Peter is a great bloke and we had a few great conversations. Joanna is very passionate about her business, exactly as she was when I took the time to go to San Francisco in November. But she was in the wrong marketplace and in the wrong vehicle," he said.
"Joanna is a phenomenal saleswoman and I'll give her points for that and if I ever have a company in the US that needs a good saleswoman, I'll be giving her a call."
