Magnus debacle a grave case of misgovernance

ON Jan 9, Magnus Energy, a company whose shares have been suspended from trading since Aug 23, 2019, got an opportunity for a reboot after minority shareholders voted in a new board.

For many Magnus shareholders, this could not have been a better outcome. There have been cases where companies became insolvent and shareholders were trapped in limbo.

Had it not been for Charles Madhavan, who had a brief but critical two-month stint as the company's managing director before he was terminated, no one would have been privy to the extent of the shenanigans that contributed to many people losing their investments.

In its heyday, Magnus was trading close to S$4 a share in early 2013. That was before the massive fund-raising activities the company undertook from FY2015 to FY2018. In total, Magnus raised gross proceeds of S$31.3 million, and had used close to S$20 million. As a result of a notes issue exercise and share placement, the company issued…