The OneMarket Ltd (ASX: OMN) share price has dropped lower this morning after the release of a major announcement.
At the time of writing the tech company's shares are down 7% to 89 cents.
What is OneMarket?
OneMarket is a retail technology company which provides retailers and brands solutions to acquire new customers and strengthen relationships with existing customers.
It listed on the Australian share market last year after being spun out of Westfield ahead of the shopping centre giant's takeover by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (ASX: URW).
Unfortunately, things haven't gone to plan since its listing and management announced today that it intends to wind up the company and return the remaining surplus to shareholders.
According to the release, OneMarket has completed its strategic review and considered the full range of options that could enhance value for shareholders. These included the sale of its assets, the introduction of a significant new business partner/equity investor, and other avenues to either enhance or realise the value of the business.
However, although a number of parties expressed an interest in pursuing a transaction, none of the expressions of interest resulted in a firm proposal which compares favourably with the value that the board believes is achievable through an orderly winding-up of OneMarket.
OneMarket's company secretary, Simon Tuxen, said: "That decision has been a difficult one but, having carefully weighed the alternatives and assessed the attendant risks, the OneMarket Board believes that this is the right decision to make in the circumstances."
"At this stage, it is anticipated that a number of shareholder approvals will be required. The current intention is that the Notice of Meeting for the necessary meeting will be prepared and dispatched during the next four weeks. If shareholders approve proceeding with the winding-up, OneMarket would also seek to be delisted from the ASX. It is proposed that the net assets of OneMarket be distributed to OneMarket's shareholders as soon as practicable, recognising that any distribution will be subject to the laws of each relevant jurisdiction governing the winding-up and will be administered by the liquidator," he added.
On the information currently available, its board estimates that the amount available for an initial distribution will likely exceed the volume weighted average share price of around $0.85 per share since the annual general meeting.
In the meantime, though, management has welcomed proposals from third parties to acquire all the shares in OneMarket and it will also continue to seek potential buyers for OneMarket's assets.
This certainly has been a disappointing turn of events and goes to show that even tech companies with big backers can fail.
