with a goal of replacing the majority of the currently entrenched legacy HEXO Board members and turning around the underachieving Company’s disappointing performance.
Michael Munzar and former CEO Sebastien St-Louis deceived the Redecan group of investors and destroyed shareholder value by completing a number of destructive financings and that the incumbent Board of Directors, led by current Board Chair John Bell and Director Vincent Chiara, was grossly remiss in approving these transactions.
Arviv also alleges that the HEXO management and Board were fully aware the Redecan group of investors was primarily comprised of First Nations individuals and supporters of First Nations groups, who, trusting in the professional management of the publicly-listed HEXO, invested their savings into this stock.
The departure of Mr. St-Louis with immediate effect on October 18, 2021, was not sufficient to halt the precipitous slide in Share value, with HEXO Shares plummeting more than 50 percent since that day.
The market has spoken loudly and HEXO shareholders have made it clear that they have no confidence in the direction of the Company and in the ability of the incumbent Board to right the ship and reverse the downward slide.
Despite the necessary removal of Mr. St-Louis, it is very clear that to reverse course, the majority of the Board needs to be replaced with new, independent Directors who have the experience and expertise to successfully navigate back to exceptional performance.
Arviv will submit the names of five independent nominees to replace the majority of the incumbent Board members at the upcoming annual and special meeting of shareholders scheduled for March 8, 2022.
Previously, Mr. Arviv served as the Founder, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Bragg Gaming Group Inc., a publicly-traded company on the TSX, and President of Will-Power Management Inc.
He spent 11 years at National Bank Financial, starting in the M&A group, then serving four years as Director of Global Equity Derivatives, where he managed a proprietary trading portfolio of bank capital.
Prior to these roles, Mr. Bromell served the Toronto Police Service for 26 years, which included six years as Chief Steward 51 Division and six years as President of the 7,500 member Toronto Police Association.
Mr. Godfrey also serves as a director of Bragg Gaming Group Inc., a publicly-traded company on the TSX and as Chairman of Kings Entertainment Group Inc., a publicly-traded company on the CSE.
He has also worked with a government relations firm in licencing of Cannabis facilities and brings an expertise on the interplay between federal and provincial regulations on consumer issues.
The Concerned Shareholder has not, within the preceding ten years of the date hereof, been a “dissident”, as such term is defined in Ontario Reg.
Morrow Sodali’s responsibility will include providing strategic advice and advising the Concerned Shareholder with respect to the Meeting and proxy protocol.
Morrow Sodali is a leading provider of strategic advice and shareholder services to corporate clients around the world.
From headquarters in New York and London, and offices and partners in major capital markets, Morrow Sodali serves more than 700 corporate clients in 40 countries, including many of the world’s largest multinational corporations.
Although the Concerned Shareholder has approached the Nominees for election to the Company’s board of directors at the Meeting of Shareholder, the record date for the Meeting has not yet occurred and Shareholder are not being asked at this time to execute a proxy in favour of any matter.
All costs incurred for any solicitation will be borne by the Concerned Shareholder, provided that, subject to applicable law, the Concerned Shareholder may seek reimbursement from HEXO of the Concerned Shareholder’s out-of-pocket expenses, including proxy solicitation expenses and legal fees, incurred in connection with a successful reconstitution of the Company’s board of directors.
Any proxies solicited by or on behalf of the Concerned Shareholder, including by any other agent retained by the Concerned Shareholder, may be solicited pursuant to a dissident information circular or by way of public broadcast, including through press releases, speeches or publications and by any other manner permitted under Canadian corporate and securities laws.