Subject to interest and investigation.
Investor Claim Partner (ICP) is proposing a shareholder class action to be run by Johnson Winter Slattery (JWS) on behalf of Dick Smith investors who suffered losses due to alleged breaches of disclosure obligations and misleading and deceptive conduct. The class action is subject to sufficient interest from affected Dick Smith shareholders and the satisfactory completion of investigations.
ICP has had the assistance of JWS, together with a forensic accountant and econometrics expert, to review public information to assess whether there is a shareholder claim emanating as far back as the Dick Smith (DSH) Prospectus.
ICP Capital funded JWS to file a claim in the Federal Court seeking orders that the liquidator of DSH to provide business records including insurance and stock/rebate records to ICP’s client in accordance with sections 247(A) (i) and 486 of the Corporations Act relevant to ICP’s suspicion that DSH made representations in its Prospectus, and at various times in the period from its listing on the ASX until the appointment of Administrators, which gave a false impression to the market about the financial position of DSH and the value of DSH shares.
ICP founder, John Walker
These representations arose, at least in part, by virtue of:
- DSH accounting for provisions and supplier rebates in a manner which appears to have inflated its gross profit, gross margin, net profit and EBITDA and NPAT;
- DSH apparently failing to adequately adjust the carrying value of inventories to recognise net realisable write-downs; and
- DSH presenting in its Prospectus historical financial information for the 2011 – 2013 years, which overstated the value of assets and equity available to ensure its expansionary business plan would be possible.
ICP obtained Federal Court orders for the production of the documents and now has funding for the claim from ICP Capital, which is conditional on book build. ICP is uniquely focused exclusively on ASX shareholder claims.