HiberGene shareholders to query share sale at meeting of creditors

A group of shareholders in troubled company HiberGene Diagnostics who claim they have only received partial payment after taking part in a share sale earlier this year are set to put questions to the company’s board at a virtual meeting of its creditors on Friday.

HiberGene’s directors moved to wind up the company late last month, largely blaming the company’s insolvency on a group of disgruntled investors.

The group has been accused of passing information to the press, which the company claims led to the collapse of talks with a potential funding source.

The company is set to nominate accountant Colin Gaynor as liquidator to the company, which they say is insolvent, at the creditors’ meeting on Friday.

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But some shareholders, who have been at loggerheads with the company’s directors over what they claim is a lack of transparency around the company’s finances and decisions made at board level in recent years, may look to block his appointment and have an “independent” liquidator appointed in Mr Gaynor’s place.

Mixed messages

Some shareholders have asked the company whether they are, in fact, creditors of the company, and allowed to attend the creditors’ meeting, claiming that they have not received full payment after selling their shares.

They say they have received mixed messages from the company about the status of the share sale and whether it has been completed.

HiberGene’s chief executive did not respond to a request from The Irish Times to comment on the claims.

Asked why the meeting was being held virtually rather than in person, David Corr said: “As we have previously stated, it would be improper to make comment ahead of the meetings scheduled for tomorrow.”

Separately, The Irish Times reported last weekend that the directors told shareholders last year it had started a legal process against healthcare and Covid-19 testing company RocDoc over “funds due and owing” related to an order of its Covid tests around Christmas in 2020.

Mr Corr declined to comment at the time. A spokesperson for RocDoc on Thursday said: “We placed an order. They failed to deliver. They then delivered three months later. We refused the order.”