Employees at Gabia (079940.KQ), a homegrown South Korean cloud company, issued a joint statement backing its current management as a battle over control of the company continues.
According to the IT industry on the 24th, Gabia employees released a statement that day titled "A Declaration by Gabia Employees to Protect Gabia's Tomorrow." A total of 334 people signed the statement, representing 81.3% of the company's 411 employees, excluding registered directors. In the statement, the employees said they "express deep concern over the recent attempts by activist funds to intervene in control of Gabia, and the added involvement of a foreign investor in such attempts."
The signatories argued that the current management should retain control. "For an IT company, long-term research and development and uninterrupted infrastructure investment are essential," they said. "Having the current management, which deeply understands the company's philosophy and business context, continue to lead consistently with a mid- to long-term vision is the realistic choice for protecting the business and job stability."
The employees expressed strong wariness toward the activist funds and foreign investors that have recently been vocal over control of Gabia. The statement said the demands of the activist funds and foreign investors are "focused not on 'how to grow the company's business' but on 'at what price to sell what is here now.'" The employees also declared they "will never tolerate a situation in which such capital takes control and dictates the company's direction."
Finally, the employees signaled that they could take further collective action, including forming a labor union, depending on how the situation develops. "To protect themselves, the employees will exhaust the legitimate means and efforts guaranteed by law, including establishing a union," they said.
Gabia is currently undergoing an acquisition by Macquarie Asset Management and delisting procedures. On the 17th of last month, Macquarie signed a share purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire all common shares (a 24.37% stake) held by two people, including Gabia CEO Kim Hong-kook, the company's largest shareholder. Macquarie is conducting a tender offer aimed at a voluntary delisting, but Align Partners Capital Management, a domestic activist fund manager, has challenged the move. Align Partners recently requested an extraordinary shareholders' meeting and has been calling for greater independence of Gabia's board. Align Partners contends that the board failed to properly review Macquarie's tender offer before it was launched.
