Magnis chair Frank Poullas and key shareholders backing battery and graphite company as challenges loom

Magnis Energy Technologies is being bankrolled by its chair Frank Poullas, his brother, and a coterie of key shareholders as it faces a ballooning debt pile.

Magnis chair Frank Poullas. Picture: Hollie Adams

Magnis Energy Technologies is being bankrolled by its chair Frank Poullas, his brother, and a coterie of key shareholders as the ASX-listed battery and graphite hopeful attempts to fend off a high-stakes battle with the corporate regulator in the courts.

In its latest set of quarterly accounts Magnis revealed it was sitting on $114,000, while staring down a ballooning $6.2m debt pile.

Magnis revealed on Thursday it had tapped Mr Poullas, his brother Emanuelle Poullas, as well as company figure Jurghen Behrens and shareholders Matthew Boysen and Tony Mazzotta to fund a $704,000 unsecured loan “with no fixed date for repayment, on an interest free, unsecured basis”. This comes after Mr Poullas sold his Marrickville house for $3.35m, after going unpaid by the company since July last year.

Magnis, which boasts a majority stake in a non-operational battery factory in upstate New York and a graphite mining tenement in Tanzania, is teetering as the ASX-listed small-cap attempts to turn its fortunes around. The company told investors it had just one and a half weeks, or 0.13 quarters, of funding left, as it attempts to secure the debts on Imperium3 New York, the battery gigafactory lenders seized late last year after a default on a $US100m ($147m) loan.

Magnis, which for months was spruiking an information-sharing agreement with iM3NY despite the dire circumstances, recently revealed to shareholders the company had not heard from the gigafactory’s management for some time.

On Thursday Magnis directed shareholders to a YouTube link which showed a TV news story featuring iM3NY chair Shailesh Upreti reading a prepared ­statement.

Most staff at iM3NY were let go on October 16, but Mr Upreti said some had been rehired as the battery factory worked to “identify the right partners in the raw material segment and the equipment supply chains, as well as in the investment community, to bring the right strategic and financial sponsors for the company”.

Mr Upreti did not respond after several attempts to contact him.

iM3NY chairman Shailesh Upreti

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission alleges Magnis and Mr Poullas intentionally withheld the dire situation at iM3NY from shareholders for months, including prior to the company’s previous annual general meeting in November last year.

Appearing in court on Thursday, lawyers for Mr Poullas saidd the Sydney businessman may make legal privilege claims on documents used by the corporate regulator to prepare its case.

ASIC alleges Magnis knew its Imperium3 “gigafactory”, which the ASX-listed business poured at least $100m into, was not performing and had dangerously low working capital.

Magnis, which at its peak was worth more than $700m, is using its own lawyers as it defends against ASIC’s claims.

In broadly similar defences, Mr Poullas and Magnis claim to have had no knowledge of ASIC’s ­allegations.

Magnis told shareholders on Thursday it was now meeting with parties “who wish to work with the company” to develop its Nachu graphite mine.

“Discussions are now under way with next steps being planned with a final goal being definitive agreements,” Magnis said. “Discussions for offtake are also progressing with Chinese-based end-users of Jumbo and Super Jumbo graphite products with sample testing being organised.”

Magnis is yet to file its full-year audited accounts, with the ­company telling investors a month ago it had been delayed closing a liquidity transaction which “has had a consequential impact of delaying the annual audit process”.

Originally published as Magnis chair Frank Poullas and key shareholders backing battery and graphite company as challenges loom