Ann: Becoming a substantial holder, page-12

Captain America declined to comment................

Quadpay founders lodge legal action vs. Merrill Lynch over Zip share sale

The founders of buy-now, pay-later company Quadpay Inc., Brad Lindenberg and Adam Ezra, are suing Merrill Lynch over the broker's advice on the sale of 12.8 million shares in Zip Co. Ltd., The Australian Financial Review reported Jan. 24. The founders had hired Merrill Lynch to dispose of shares in Zip issued to associated entities Bleeker Street and AJE. The two companies, however, alleged in a claim filed in 2021 that Merrill Lynch's advice to sell the Zip shares via a block trade was conflicted because it would have earned a higher fee while the broker also acted as a corporate adviser for Zip. Bleeker Street and AJE claim that Merrill Lynch breached contractual, tortious and fiduciary duties after U.S.-based PayPal announced that it would offer buy-now, pay-later services, prompting a 13% decline in Zip shares on the planned day of the trade. The transaction in question related to Zip shares issued to the two Quadpay associated entities as part of the buy-now, pay-later company's $400 million acquisition of Zip. Merrill Lynch denied the allegations in its defense filings, while its owner, Bank of America Corp., declined to comment, the publication reported. The matter is listed for directions on May 20.