Cube's last minute E-cademy bid fails

By PETER GRIFFIN technology writer

The fate of struggling online education company E-cademy may have been decided by a few determined shareholders. Yesterday they cleared the way for Australian company MatrixIP to be granted 200 million shares and 100 million options in E-cademy.

The shareholder votes supporting the deal represented more than 97 million of E-cademy's 148.5 million shares and came as an eleventh-hour offer from listed furniture manufacturer Cube Capital attracted growing support.

At a tense meeting in Auckland, minority shareholders and company directors alike were divided over whether the Cube deal should be considered further. However, a motion to adjourn the meeting was defeated.

Cube was offering $475,000 for 158 million shares, against MatrixIP's offer of $400,000 for 200 million shares.

Cube managing director Simon Wallace was unable to seek an injunction stopping the meeting, but took the floor to try to persuade attending shareholders to vote for an ajournment so details of Cube's late offer could be examined.

"I'd question the motives of MatrixIP," he said. "Are they looking for a cheap entree into the intellectual capital of E-cademy which has intellectual property worth $3 million incorporating goodwill?"

E-cademy founder Wayne Johnson, with just over four million shares in the company, voted against fellow directors Peter Atkinson, Alex Roche and John Varnay, saying the meeting should have been adjourned.

"As a shareholder I can't vote for the offer on the table, given that we have a better offer. We now have a non-listed company in Australia with no income apart from its investors, controlling a company listed in New Zealand."

MatrixIP's managing director, Darron Passlow, who flew in from Sydney, had turned up the pressure by saying his company's offer could be withdrawn if the meeting was adjourned.