Life360 boss Chris Hulls sells a quarter of his stake

Life360 CEO Chris Hulls has disposed of almost one quarter of his stake in the business as he seeks to diversify his investments and “secure my family’s future”.

Life360 boss Chris Hulls has disposed of almost one quarter of his stake in the business.

Life360 boss Chris Hulls has disposed of almost one quarter of his stake in the business as he seeks to diversify his investments and “secure my family’s future”.

The move saw a dramatic sell off of Life360 shares on Monday which closed down near 7 per cent at $21.22.

The selldown arrives just days after the company downgraded its revenue guidance for the full year after a six-week supplier delay cut into its ability to move and sell new devices.

The Australian reported last week that a seasonal decline in its fourth quarter threatens to further shift that guidance, which was adjusted to $US368-$US374m ($564m-$573m) on Wednesday, down from previous guidance of $US370m-$US378m.

Mr Hulls, in a statement to the ASX on Monday, said he would be donating more than one third of his shares to philanthropic projects.

“I have recently returned from an extended break more excited than ever about the opportunities ahead for Life360, and with a renewed enthusiasm to lead the next chapter in the Company’s vision,” he said.

“At the same time I decided to activate my planned diversification, and these transactions will enable me to secure my family’s future as well as creating a foundation to undertake philanthropic projects in my local community.”

In a statement to the market, Life360 said Mr Hulls would sell 863,903 shares and retain about 3.8 per cent of the business or more than 2.7 million shares valued at around $58m.

He also committed to not selling any further shares for the next 12 months.

“I will still have close to 75 per cent of my net worth in Life360 equity and have committed to not undertake certain additional sales in the next 12 months,” he said.

The donation had been planned for sometime, Mr Hulls said. “I have previously indicated my desire to diversify my financial holdings – as a founder, I have been with the Company for 17 years and I have a significant majority of my wealth associated with Life360 – and these transactions reflect that plan.”

Last week Life360 reported a 24 per cent decline year-on-year in hardware revenue in the three months to September 30, due to supplier delays and longer than expected approval times on its new tracking products.

The decline arrived as Life360 launched a new range of Tiles – a type of Bluetooth tracking device which bounces off the bluetooth on people’s iPhones to provide a location.

Life360 acquired Bluetooth tracking manufacturer Tile for $US205m in November 2021 and is gradually folding all of its services into the Life360 brand to eventually close the Tile app.

Its business in Australia grew by about 100,000 users over the third quarter where it added a total of 6.3 million new monthly active users.

Its total userbase counts 76.9 million, with 2.2 million – up by 159,000 – who pay for a premium service which includes features like emergency SOS buttons.

In the three months to September 30 it recorded an 18 per cent jump in revenue, reaching $US92.9m. However, the company was not planning on subscription revenue alone to lift its losses and was increasingly looking to a new type of advertising product.

That product was part of a trial in the US where its customers would receive a notification offering Uber’s services, discounted by about 5 per cent.

Mr Hulls said that he believed revenue from its nascent advertising business could grow to rival subscription revenue as the company, which primarily targets families and pet owners, has the “single largest group of family users outside of Facebook”.

Originally published as Life360 boss Chris Hulls sells a quarter of his stake