TORONTO, April 5, 2021 /CNW/ - On Tuesday, March 30, 2021, Anthony Durkacz, a founding director and member
of the group of concerned shareholders, which also includes
founding shareholder Zeeshan Saeed,
(the "Concerned Shareholders") of FSD Pharma Inc. (Nasdaq:
HUGE) (CSE: HUGE) (FRA: 0K9) (the "Company" or "FSD")
received a Notice of Appeal from FSD (the "Appeal") of the
March 5, 2021 decision (the
"Decision") of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice
(Commercial List) (the "Court"). The Decision, which
resulted from an application to the Court brought by Mr. Durkacz on
behalf of the Concerned Shareholders, ordered the Company to
accelerate the date of its previously called annual shareholders'
meeting (the "Meeting") from June 29,
2021 to May 14, 2021, retain
an independent chair to preside over the Meeting and prevent Dr.
Raza Bokhari and other directors
from voting recently issued shares (the "Order").
Among other things, FSD's Appeal is seeking to delay the date of
the Meeting to June 29, 2021 and
remove voting restrictions that the Order attached to shares issued
since January 4, 2021 to Dr.
Raza Bokhari, Stephen Buyer,
Robert Ciaruffoli, James Datin, Gerald
Goldberg and Larry Kaiser and
any entities related to any of them.
"This is an entirely unjustified waste of FSD's money," said
Anthony Durkacz, one of the
Concerned Shareholders. "FSD management resisted our proposed
shareholder meeting date of March 31,
2021 on the basis that the company needed to receive its
audited financial statements for the 2020 financial year and wanted
to avoid the expense of holding two meetings. These concerns have
been fully-accommodated - FSD's auditors have already delivered the
audited financial statements and a single meeting is being held on
May 14, 2021. This appeal is a waste
of money and another attempt by FSD management to delay being held
accountable to FSD's shareholders."
The absurdity of this legal maneuver is evident in the fact that
the appeal is scheduled to be held on May 3,
2021 – only 11 days before the Meeting and at least 10 days
after FSD will have been required by securities and corporate laws
to prepare and mail a circular for the Meeting to shareholders.
Delaying the Meeting would require FSD to prepare and mail a second
circular – causing it to unnecessarily incur the duplicate meeting
expenses it previously sought to avoid by accepting a meeting date
in May rather than the earlier date requested by the Concerned
Shareholders. This is a clear case of Raza
Bokhari and the directors who support him inflicting
unnecessary expense on the Company for their personal benefit.
Mr. Durkacz added, "In February
2021, Raza Bokhari and the
other directors awarded themselves inflated compensation of
approximately C$6.7 million for
services not yet provided. The longer they delay the meeting, the
more they earn. This appeal only serves the interests of
Raza Bokhari and the directors who
support him and has no value for other shareholders."
On May 14, 2021, shareholders will
have the opportunity to put FSD back on the path to success. Mr.
Durkacz encourages shareholders to stay informed and exercise their
rights at the Meeting, saying, "Shareholders have a right to
determine the future of our company and these outrageous efforts by
Dr. Raza Bokhari and other directors
to frustrate that only reinforces the urgent need for change."
Further details regarding the Concerned Shareholders' nominees
and the reasons that the Concerned Shareholders want to
reconstitute FSD's board are contained in the information circular
available on the Company's SEDAR profile at
www.sedar.com and at the website established by the
Concerned Shareholders: www.RestoreFSD.com. Stay
up-to-date by following us at: www.RestoreFSD.com; Facebook:
RestoreFSD; and Twitter: @RestoreFSD.
Forward Looking Information
Certain statement contained herein are "forward-looking
statements". Often, but not always, forward-looking statement can
be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects",
"expected", "scheduled", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or
"believes", or variations of such words and phrases, or states that
certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might"
or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking
statements contained in this press release include statements
regarding the Meeting, the business to be conducted at the Meeting
and the Appeal. The Concerned Shareholders cannot give any
assurance that such forward-looking statements will prove to have
been correct. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance
on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the
date of this document.
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content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fsd-pharma-inc-management-wasting-company-money-by-seeking-to-further-delay-shareholder-meeting-301261827.html
SOURCE Concerned Shareholders of FSD