Founder Files Formal Proposal for Independent Strategic Review, Presses Board on Governance
FRMI sits 21% above its 52-week low of $4.47.
Summary
Toby Neugebauer, Fermi's largest shareholder at ~22%, has filed a Rule 14a-8 proposal demanding the Board hire an independent investment bank to evaluate extraordinary transactions, including a full sale or majority recapitalization. He also sent a letter and presentation asking for advisory votes on restoring pre-IPO voting standards and raising the REIT ownership limit from 2.5% to 9.8%. Neugebauer criticizes the Board's execution: the 222 MW TensorWave lease is less than 5% of the 4.8 GW opportunity, no guaranteed agreement or project financing was confirmed as of September 10, and the Board named its own member Lee McIntire as CEO after a four-month search. Shares are down 20% since the August 13 announcement that the 90-day plan was complete, 35% since July 2, and 20% since Neugebauer's removal as CEO on April 17. This escalates the ongoing proxy contest ahead of the October 30 Annual Meeting, directly challenging the Board's strategic direction and governance.
At the time of this announcement, FRMI was trading at $5.41 on NASDAQ in the Real Estate & Construction sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $3.5B. The 52-week trading range was $4.47 to $36.99. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10. Source: PR Newswire.