Plans to Propose Its Slate of Nominees for Election and Call for a Special Auditor at Balda's Annual General Meeting
Octavian Advisors LP ("Octavian"), which through various funds owns approximately 8.3% of the outstanding shares of Balda AG ("Balda"), today responded to the voting results of Balda's Extraordinary General Meeting ("EGM").
Richard Hurowitz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Octavian, stated, "We are disappointed – but not at all surprised – by the results of today's EGM. As was readily apparent to all those who attended the meeting, Octavian's proposal to replace Balda's current Supervisory Board received overwhelming support from shareholders who are not affiliated with Michael Chiang. Every shareholder who spoke at today's 11-hour meeting was highly critical of the current Supervisory Board and extremely vocal about their deep concerns regarding the state of affairs at Balda. Nevertheless, Balda's Supervisory Board members continue to show no interest in addressing the company's grave corporate governance issues. Therefore, we plan to propose our slate of nominees at the company's Annual General Meeting on May 11 and call for a special auditor to investigate the Supervisory Board's misconduct and its improper relationship with Michael Chiang."
Igor Kuzniar, a Managing Director at Octavian, said, "We continue to be disturbed by the current Supervisory Board's apparent conflict of interest as well as our belief that a large group of shares were improperly allowed to be voted. This demonstrates the extreme lengths the Supervisory Board will go to in order to maintain the stranglehold Michael Chiang has over the company to the detriment of Balda's other shareholders. We are pleased that BaFin is investigating this extremely serious matter."
Mr. Kuzniar continued, "We remain fully committed to taking any and all actions to protect our investment in Balda and are already taking steps to continue this important fight at the company's Annual General Meeting, and if necessary, in the courts. We will do everything in our power to hold the current Supervisory Board members and those acting surreptitiously on their behalf personally responsible for what we believe to be improper actions. We are confident that the wishes of the vast majority of Balda's shareholders will prevail."
About Octavian Advisors
Octavian Advisors, LP is a global investment firm with offices in New York and London. The firm focuses on special situations and distressed investments in international markets, and has successfully invested in over 40 countries on six continents. Octavian currently manages approximately $1 billion for leading endowments, foundations, pension funds, family offices and institutions.
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