Tech millionaire Bevan Slattery sells $39m worth of Megaport shares

Millionaire Queensland tech founder Bevan Slattery has promised he still has skin in the game after selling a chunk of shares, sending jitters through investors.

Tech millionaire Bevan Slattery says he still believes in the long term future of Megaport after selling $40m worth of his stock in the company that he founded. Pic Mark Cranitch

Shares in telecommunications and IT infrastructure company Megaport slumped as much as 7 per cent on Friday after its millionaire chairman and founder Bevan Slattery sold more than $39m worth of stock.

An ASX statement showed Mr Slattery sold $39.2m worth of his shares in the business to facilitate “ongoing investment opportunities”.

Investors typically become skittish when a major shareholder and founder of a company sells down stock, particularly in a volatile market.

The sale of 3 million shares, at $13.05 apiece, cuts Mr Slattery’s interest in the group to 5.1 per cent. He reassured shareholders that he would not sell any more shares over the next six months.

“I am excited for Megaport’s continued growth and am committed to supporting the company. I have no intention of selling shares within the next 6 months and I am committed to ensuring the company’s success as it continues to scale up and scale out,” Mr Slattery said in a note to investors on Friday.

Shares in Megaport lost $1, or 7 per cent, to $13.14 in morning trade, above what Mr Slattery sold his shares at to institutional investors. The sale, managed by UBS, was equivalent to 1.9 per cent of Megaport’s total issued capital.

Megaport has slumped 31 per cent since the beginning of the year but over the last five years has risen more than 510 per cent.

Last month Megaport reported a first half net loss of $20.2m, down from a loss of $38.4m a year earlier as revenue climbed 42 per cent to $51.2m.

Mt Slattery is a serial technology entrepreneur and is involved in a number of technology companies including Megaport.

He last year unveiled his plans for a $1.5bn broadband infrastructure project called HyperOne.

His proposed hyperscale 10,000-terabits-a-second network will involve connecting capital cities with fibre in every state and territory for the first time, and will be designed for use by businesses that need heavy data movement, including Amazon, Google and Facebook, but also telcos, defence companies and other satellite businesses.

Originally published as Tech millionaire Bevan Slattery sells $39m worth of Megaport shares