Fermi’s cofounder and largest shareholder, who was terminated as company CEO this year, announced last week he’ll suspend his proxy fight. The feud might not be permanently over according to official documents, but for now Neugebauer “will not act.”
Toby Neugebauer proposed adding people to the current Fermi board that are favorable to his plan for selling the company. He previously said selling is the best way to preserve stockholder value.
Neugebauer also sued after his termination, and according to him, the case got delayed when the judge recused himself.
“With a new judge now required to get up to speed … the timeline no longer allows us to seat new directors who can oversee a true strategic dual path process … ” Neugebauer said in a press release.
The dual track process was to keep looking for customers and continue to build Project Matador in conjunction with Texas Tech northeast of Amarillo while also looking for potential Fermi buyers.
Tech leased the property for 99 years to Fermi for “one of the world’s largest advanced energy and data campus sites.”
Fermi has plans for up to 17 gigawatts of power – some of it coming from nuclear. Fermi would recruit tenants to run their own computing operations while Fermi provides underlying support.
Neugebauer said he’s still rooting for the company to succeed and his path forward is the best way to protect investors.
Previous Fermi coverage
Fermi several times has disputed Neugebauer and said he’s only trying to make a quick buck for himself while causing “substantial losses” for public stockholders. Fermi claimed Neugebauer was terminated for violating company policies, misleading the board and souring relationships with potential customers.
Neugebauer’s most recent statement said of Fermi, “Nothing matters more to me than its success. I’ll continue to push for good governance through the judicial process but am officially suspending the proxy challenge today.”
“More than 70 percent of votes cast to date have been in favor of calling a special meeting, underscoring shareholders’ demand for a special meeting to determine Fermi’s future,” Neubauer also claimed.
The fight might only be delayed – not permanently settled according to official documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In an official filing, Neugebauer said he and supporters “will not act … to call the special meeting unless such solicitation is resumed.”
On Thursday, Fermi issued a press release but not related to the proxy fight. Fermi announced it plans to borrow $350 million for “general corporate purposes.”
Fermi is giving itself the option to pay back the money in five years with company shares – depending on the stock price.
Stock prices fell roughly 15 percent right after Thursday’s announcement.
