DroneShield has informed investors that its three directors who sold $70 million worth of the company’s stock last week did not coordinate the timing of their share sales. The clarification comes in response to a query from the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) regarding the sales by chief executive Oleg Vornik, chairman Peter James, and director Jethro Marks. DroneShield stated that it only became aware of the share sales after the market closed on November 12. DroneShield is an Australian company that develops counter-drone technology. The company’s solutions are used to protect people, organisations, and critical infrastructure from advanced threats such as drones and autonomous systems.
The company stated, “DroneShield has been informed by the directors that they did not have an agreement amongst themselves to dispose of all (or any part) of their DRO Shares, and that the shares were sold on-market, in the ordinary course of trading, and in accordance with programmed trading parameters agreed by each director with their respective broker.” This statement aims to address concerns about potential coordinated action among the directors regarding the disposal of their shares.
DroneShield further clarified that the three directors have historically exercised and sold shares that were issued upon achieving performance milestones. According to the company, this practice is well-understood within the investment community. The company believes that investors would understand that the exercise of performance options would trigger the sale of a substantial portion of the issued shares.
The sales were to cover significant tax liabilities incurred by each of the three directors and other employees as a result of exercising these options. This explanation seeks to provide context for the substantial volume of shares sold, linking it to the fulfilment of tax obligations arising from the exercise of performance-based options.
