2024-03-06 11:51:35
The stem cell and organ restoration company Bonus in Biogroup reported last week that investigators from the Securities Authority came to its offices for the purpose of a search related to the suspicion of committing crimes in securities and also summoned a number of officials for investigation at the Authority.
This morning (Wednesday) Globes learned more details about the investigation, from which it appears that it is related to the purchases made in bonus shares at the beginning of 2022 as part of the “struggle” it conducted with the Infrastructure Fund Generation Capital In order to be included in the stock market indices in Tel Aviv.
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According to the disclosed information, the Authority suspects that Shai Maretzky, who controls Bonus and serves as CEO and director of the company, and Yosef Roych, who serves as chairman of the board, acted in fraudulent ways that affected the prices of the securities of Bonus and another public company. According to the suspicion, the two carried out actions in trading with the aim of the company continuing to be included in the TA 90 and TA 125 indices, while presenting a false representation to the stock exchange.
It also appears that, according to the suspicion, the suspects caused misleading details to be published in the company’s reports and financial statements regarding loans given to employees during the mentioned period for the purpose of exercising options. These were not reported to the public at the required time or in the required manner after they were reported. In other words, the company allegedly encouraged the employees to exercise options in order to influence the company’s inclusion in the indices, and did not report this properly.
In addition, it is suspected that offenses were committed by Or Ben Shoshan, who served as a consultant to the company and had an interest in it through a venture capital fund that he manages with others (SIBF); and by Nathaniel Cohen, who worked at the foundation with Ben Shushan. In addition, Ben Shoshan and Cohen are suspected of having carried out fraudulent trading operations through various accounts under their control and even carried out independent and coordinated transactions in the company’s securities with the aim of influencing the prices of its securities as mentioned.
The items of suspicion are: committing fraudulent offenses in securities; offenses of using inside information and reporting offenses according to the Securities Law; Offenses of receiving something fraudulently under aggravating circumstances according to the Penal Code; as well as money laundering offenses according to the Money Laundering Prohibition Law.
The investigation dropped the stock by about 17%
Bonus Biogroup is traded in Tel Aviv at a current value of NIS 272 million. Following the announcement of the investigation, the company’s stock fell, and it is now trading at a price 17% lower than its price on the morning of the announcement of the investigation.
The company was established in 2008, and it develops treatments for bone restoration based on a bone graft produced from stem cells. It still has no income from its products, which are in the clinical development stage and are not approved for marketing. As of the reports for the third quarter of 2023, the company’s remaining loss is NIS 302 million, and its coffers had about NIS 37 million. Maretzky owns 32% of the company, and Roich owns 11.4%.
At the beginning of 2022, Generation Capital submitted to the District Court in Haifa a request for recognition of a class action against Bonus, after the two companies competed head-to-head for a place in the Tel Aviv 90 index, and Bonus is the one remaining in the index. In the request for the lawsuit, it is claimed that the company and CEO Maretzki took steps some of which are not legitimate in order to remain in the index. The lawsuit described some of the actions that are now being investigated by the Securities Authority: unusual rates of exercise of employee and controlling stock options, active and unusual purchase of shares by controlling owners, as well as particularly active public relations activity.
No response was given from Bonus Biogroup.
*** Presumption of innocence: All those investigated in the case are only suspects. This is a preliminary stage in the criminal procedure, no indictments have been filed against them, and they are presumed innocent.
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