Apart from the numerous insightful & ligitimate questions posed here regarding the proposed deal with Mr Pavlovitch, the one thing that indicates to me that the long term shareholders are not even an afterthought is the introduction fee to be gifted to Mr Palermo. I now choose my words very carefully.
So I ask others to give some serious thought as to why Mr Palermo may be in line to be awarded such a generous reward. If the amount of over $1.5m AUD as calculated by some on this forum is correct this smacks of breathtaking arrogance & signals that all on or close to the the OBJ boarday place their immediate financial interests to the fore, & may give zero regard or even recognition of the long term shareholders. This may be evident by the dilution shareholders will realise under this proposal. The shareholders take the all the risk..... .conversely Mr Palermo (& the board via share entitlements) benefits handsomely, win lose or draw.
As I have said previously, I could rationalise this if the parter was of the calibre of Unilever, Johnstone & Johnson, Elon Musk Et Al however, in the absence of further detailed information & hard financial evidence we have been presented with a plan that is less than underwhelming.
My theory for the fee to Mr Palermo is that as Mr Palermo is not the beneficiary of any share packages as are the other members of the board, this introduction fee is a way of remedying this. Maybe Mr Palermo feels he is of board quality & was a squeaky wheel.
Accordingly, I have contacted the board & presented the following questions regarding Mr Palermo. Upon receiving a response (if any) I will seek permission for the response to be posted here. If not, I encourage those who attend the AGM to present these questions to the board & /or Mr Palermo himself.
1. Do the board agree that the proposed introduction fee to Mr Palermo of circa $1.5 Milion AUD is manifestly excessive?
2. Do the board intend to review this introduction fee?
3. The proposed introduction fee guarantees Mr Palermo a significant sum on completion but there is zero guarantee the shareholders will benefit from this introduction. Can the board explain why alternative performance based rewards, specifically, zero reward to Mr Palermo if there is no sustained improvement in the share price & conversely more reward for higher sustained share price were not chosen? It seems a performance based scenario would be far better aligned to shareholder interests than the immediate lump sum currently proposed.
4. What are the introduction fee parameters, if any, that Mr Palermo was bound by, or, did Mr Palermo and the board negotiate this fee? If this fee was negotiated what metrics did the board apply to arrive at the current introduction fee?
5. Are any OBJ Board members or employees able to claim an introduction fee and under what circumstances?
6. Do the board agree this finders fee, essentially gifted to our company secretary sends the wrong message to the market?
OBJ Price at posting:
1.5¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)