Rakon director Peter Maire resigns

Wednesday 22 February 2017 10:40 AM

Rakon director Peter Maire resigns, new directors to be appointed soon

By Sophie Boot

Feb. 22 (BusinessDesk) - Rakon director Peter Maire has resigned after 16 years at the company, with the board expecting to appoint new directors in the next few weeks.

"My decision to leave the Board now is because my other business interests are demanding much more of my time and with the arrival of Siward as a high quality major shareholder and potential future business partner, my specific skills are well replaced by their involvement," Maire said.

Rakon has tested investors' patience with the founding Robinson family's influence becoming a bone of contention at the 2016 annual meeting last November, with executive director Darren Robinson ousted from the board. While chairman Bryan Mogridge retained his seat, he indicated he would serve one more term and that founder Warren Robinson was prepared to step down before the next AGM.

Taiwan's Siward Crystal Technology, which took a 17 percent stake in Rakon in February for $14.1 million, will also appoint a director to its board as part of that deal. The board said today it was confident it is compliant with listing rules around the number of independent directors it needs, with Mogridge and Bruce Irvine filling those roles.

Rakon tilted its focus to the telecommunications sector after rivals in the smart wireless market caught up, turning what was once a niche product into a commoditised one. The shift helped Rakon return to profitability in the March 2015 year, but a slump in spending by network operators weighed on the Kiwi firm in 2016 and pushed it back into the red, with the company reporting a first-half loss of $5.7 million last year.The company said it will use the $14.1 million raised from Siward to repay debt, which was at $22.8 million as at Sept. 30, 2016, up $100,000 from a year earlier.

The shares were unchanged at 20 cents.

(BusinessDesk)

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