High Court dismisses bid by co-founder and CTO to liquidate Cake Group

THE Singapore High Court on Thursday (Apr 25) dismissed an application by Cake Group co-founder Chua U-Zyn to wind up the company, saying that the former chief technical officer “has gone too far” with the move.

Judicial Commissioner Alex Wong said there were no grounds to shutter the crypto firm, adding that it was not appropriate for Chua to seek liquidation as a quick fix to his troubles when there were other remedies available.

This puts an end to the current legal battle between Cake Group’s warring founders, Chua and CEO Julian Hosp, which goes back several months.

Commissioner Wong, however, stressed that his order in no way endorses Hosp’s behaviour as detailed in Chua’s claim. He urged the co-founders to resolve the conflict with a considered and careful approach, on account that they have built a value-adding enterprise together.

So why did Chua not have sufficient grounds for liquidating Cake Group?

Here is a play-by-play of the commissioner’s response to Chua’s claims:

Chua and Hosp were not present at the hearing. But Hosp joined Cake Group’s staff at the High Court after the judgement was passed, sharing cheers of relief and then going off to celebrate.

“Today is a happy day for the Cake Group, our customers, and our talented team,” tweeted Hosp on X. “With this decision, the uncertainty for customers, team members, and partners ends today… onwards and upwards.”

Chua tells Tech in Asia that he was not expecting this outcome. “We are back to square one,” he said.

“We definitely can’t work with each other anymore. We mutually agreed last September that one of us has to leave,” Chua added.

Where does he go from here? There are no definitive steps yet, but he is looking at several ways forward, such as filing for an appeal against the commissioner’s order. He could also work with Hosp to find an amicable way out, which includes Hosp buying him out and fully taking over the company.

In a previous hearing on Feb 28, Hosp offered to sell his stake in the firm, however, the deal did not materialise.

While Chua does not rule out selling his shares to a third party, he said that he has tried doing so before and it was tough.

As for being bought out by Hosp, Chua is uncertain about such an arrangement. “We have tried so many times, but [our attempts] kept failing in the past six months.”

The falling-out between the two co-founders began in October 2023 over disagreements about the layoffs at Cake Group. TECH IN ASIA