One more Positive Technologies co-owner leaves board of directors
MOSCOW. Aug 7 (Interfax) - Boris Simis has become the second main shareholder in Positive Group (the parent company of the Positive Technologies group, an information security solutions developer), to resign from the board of directors, the group said.
"Boris Simis, Deputy Chairman and member of committees under the company's board of directors, has decided to voluntarily resign his powers and leave the board of directors effective August 4, 2023," the statement said. "This step will allow Boris to pay more attention to personal projects, while actively participating in the development of Positive Technologies [the main operating company of the group] as a co-owner".
With the departure from the board of directors of the company, Simis retains the position of Deputy CEO for Business Development of Positive Technologies.
Earlier, in June, and for similar reasons, to concentrate "on his own projects," Dmitry Maximov, a member of the board of directors who is one of the main shareholders of the company and one of its founders, voluntarily resigned.
Shortly before this, the European Union imposed sanctions, as part of its 11th package, on the Positive Group. The sanctions applied to "Russian IT companies that provide the most important technologies and software to Russian intelligence, as well as structures that work with the Russian Armed Forces," the EU said at the time.
Positive Group, in turn, then stated that the EU sanctions do not affect the activities of the company, or those of its partners, customers, employees, top management or shareholders, including individuals. "Our international interests are not related to EU countries and are primarily focused on regions that are ready to work with organizations from the Russian Federation, in particular - in the markets of Latin America, the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia, as well as India, South Africa, China etc.," the company said in a comment.
Currently, Positive's Board of Directors continues its work with its reduced membership. An extraordinary meeting of the company's shareholders is scheduled for September 8 this year, at which an election of the board of directors is planned.
As reported, in the fall of 2021, after the company was included in the next US sanctions list, Positive Group noted that "the company had mitigated the sanctions risks earlier, and now they do not pose additional threats to it."
Positive Group shares are traded on the Moscow Exchange; the company received the listing in December 2021. At the time of listing and the start of trading, free float amounted to 10.89% of the total volume of ordinary shares. They were given to current and former employees of the group, as well as to its partners from existing shareholders as part of a share-gifting program.
In September last year, the company held an SPO, during which it was able to place 932,600 shares, or 1.41% of the share capital.
The free float is currently 13.1%.
The group's main operating company is Positive Technologies, which is 100% owned by the Positive Group. Main shareholders, in addition to Dmitry Maximov, are Evgeny Kireev (owns 7.94% of ordinary shares) and Yuri Maximov (51.89%). Simis owns a 4.7% stake in Positive Group.
IFRS revenue for Positive Group in 2022 totaled 13.8 billion rubles, while sales value (sales are called "shipments" which are transfers of the right to use a licensed product to a client or signed contracts for cybersecurity services) reached 14.5 billion rubles, and net profit before capitalization of expenses came to billion rubles.