Duelling claims as battle for control of renewables firm 1414 Degrees escalates
1414 Degrees chairman Tony Sacre has taken exception to claims by former chair Kevin Morairty, writing to the ASX to set out his version of events, as a vote to roll the board looms.
The battle for control of energy storage technology company 1414 Degrees is heating up with statements in a letter sent to shareholders by the former chairman Kevin Moriarty characterised as “misleading or at worst defamatory’’ by the current chair.
Dr Moriarty is attempting to roll the board for a second time in under 12 months, with companies associated with him calling for an extraordinary general meeting to turf Dana Larson, Peter Gan and chairman Tony Sacre from the board, and replace them with himself and Ian Burdon.
Dr Moriarty said on Friday that shareholders have expressed “dismay” at the decline in the company’s value under the current board, and said the sale of half of the company’s Aurora renewable energy project in South Australia to Vast Solar “virtually at cost” was a “kick in the solar plexus to our shareholders’’.
Mr Sacre, in a letter lodged with the Australian Securities Exchange on Friday, said he wanted to address some “factual errors” Dr Moriarty was asserting.
Mr Sacre says that Dr Moriarty’s claim that “most of the key agreements, project activity and outcomes were initiated and negotiated under my leadership”, and that “I put the company on track to earn substantial cash flows from Aurora” were both not correct.
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Mr Sacre says key negotiations with Woodside were managed by himself, a former interim chief executive and former chief executive Matthew Squire, while Dr Moriarty had “no relevant involvement’’ in subsequent partner investments in the Aurora project.
In relation to cash flow from the Aurora project - a large scale hybrid solar and long-duration energy storage project near Port Augusta - while the outlook was positive, further work was required to get it to the final investment decision stage.
“The statement ‘I am concerned at the timing and motivation of the directors’ in relation to
the Vast Solar transaction is misleading or at worst defamatory,’’ Mr Sacre writes.
“The company’s strategy regarding securing a partner for Aurora was communicated to the market as far back as the 2021 annual general meeting held on 25 November 2021.’’
Vast Solar acquired a half stake in the Aurora project for $2.5m in a deal announced on June 15.
Mr Sacre also said that Dr Moriarty’s commentary around the performance of 1414’s shares did not reflect all the facts, and ignores the 64 per cent fall in the share price between February 2021 and when he gave notice of his own impending resignation in June of that year.
Mr Sacre says Dr Moriarty’s actions “appear to have been designed to disrupt and destabilise the board’’ and says there was a real risk that key staff would leave the company if Dr Moriarty’s board push was successful.
Dr Moriarty said on Friday he and other shareholders had been “watching on with dismay” at the way the company was being managed, and everyone would get a chance to express their views at the EGM.
“I have run the company and built it up from nothing to what it is today over five years and have a lot of experience running the company,’’ he said.
“Whereas when I look at the board, there isn’t anyone that has that sort of experience. So the question really is, what is important for the company and its shareholders?”
Dr Moriarty said he maintained that the Aurora deal was “a very bad deal” for shareholders, and he wouldn’t resile from his criticism.
“The board may not like it of course, but the shareholders need to decide what’s in the company’s interest. And they will decide. I can’t do more than that. It’s not a popularity contest.
“I don’t care, I just care about the company.’’
The meeting will be held on July 28.
1414 shares are currently trading at 7.7c, just off the 12-month low of 7.4c, valuing it at about $16m.