Wise co-founder ‘deeply troubled’ ahead of dual listing vote – UKTN

Skaala Investments OÜ, a major shareholder of Wise owned and run by company co-founder Taavet Hinrikus is “deeply troubled” over the terms of an upcoming vote that will confirm the fintech’s plans to establish a dual listing in New York.

Hinrikus, who served as chief executive of the company from its launch until 2017, later becoming chairman, is generally supportive of the dual listing decision, considering it to be “in the best interests of Wise”.

However, a statement from Skaala on Monday expressed concern that the shareholder vote, set to take place next week, has bundled together multiple large resolutions, notably including a move to extend a two-tier share voting structure.

Wise first went public on the London Stock Exchange in 2021. As part of its IPO it introduced a dual-class shareholding structure that granted much heavier voting rights to Class B shares.

According to Skaala’s statement, “shareholders were expressly promised” that these enhanced voting rights would be scrapped in July 2026.

However, a resolution to extend Class B voting rights for 10 years was “buried” in the proposal outlining its dual-listing plan.

“Transparency and trust have always been at the heart of Wise’s business,” said Skaala.

“We are concerned about its impact on the future value of the company, its reputation and on the wider shareholder body. We are aware that a number of other investors share this view and are supportive of our position.”

Skaala holds 15.5% of total Class B shares, so, despite its objections it would be a significant beneficiary of the extension.

The Wise board responded to the complaint by claiming the dual-class structure in combination with the US listing is “essential to ensuring our continued successful performance and safeguarding our focus on executing our strategy”.

It said: “Companies with multi-class share structures have long been a feature of the US market.

“We noted in our circular that US-listed companies with dual or multi-class share structures often outperform those with a single share class in both the short and medium term.”

The response noted it was “disappointed” that Hinrikus has chosen to express his dissatisfaction this way.

Already have an account? Log in