Recent share sales by DroneShield’s chief executive, Oleg Vornik, chairman Peter James, and director Jethro Marks, which led to a significant drop in the company’s share price, have sparked concern. DroneShield is an Australian company that develops and sells technologies for drone detection and mitigation. Its products are used in a variety of sectors, including defence, security, and infrastructure.
The story involves Eugene Tablis, a financier behind Bergen Asset Management, who provided early funding to DroneShield. Tablis’ initial investment was allegedly conditional on the company relocating to Australia and Vornik joining as CFO. While Bergen progressively sold down its stake, Tablis’ timing proved unfortunate, missing out on potential gains had he held onto his shares longer.
Notably, Peter James’ involvement extends to the collapsed dairy business, Halo Food Co (formerly Keytone). Keytone, like DroneShield, had Bergen Asset Management as a significant shareholder and James as chairman. Similar to DroneShield, James granted himself and his chosen chief executive generous options. Halo Food Co eventually fell into administration after a disastrous acquisition.
The auditor for Halo Foods Co was HLB Mann Judd, the same firm that audited and approved the KPI for the granting of options to Vornik, James and Marks at DroneShield. Time will reveal if DroneShield faces a similar outcome, considering its modest earnings and accumulated losses to date.
