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Bubs settles legal dispute with founder and ex-chair
FoodBev Media

FoodBev Media

27 February 2024

Bubs settles legal dispute with founder and ex-chair

Infant formula and baby food manufacturer Bubs Australia has settled its legal dispute with its founder and former CEO Kristy Carr and ex-chairman Dennis Lin. In a statement made in its half-year results commentary yesterday (26 February), Bubs Australia said it had "settled the proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia”. The statement continued: “The statement commenced by Ms Carr and Mr Lin against Bubs, Katrina Rathie, Steve Lin, Paul Jensen and Reg Weine and the crossclaim commenced by Bubs against Ms Carr and Mr Dennis Lin have been (mutually) discontinued on confidential terms with no orders as to costs”. The dispute became public in May 2023 after Bubs revealed the departure of CEO Carr – who founded the business in 2005 – in a stock-exchange filing, a fortnight after instigating a strategic review. In the months leading up to Carr’s departure, Bubs had reported an EBITDA loss of AUD 42 million (approx. $27.5 million)* compared to an AUD 1.2m (approx. $785,548)* profit the year before. In May last year, Bubs said it was axing Carr for “failing to comply with reasonable board directions.” At the time, it said that the non-executive directors had decided to make a leadership change and alter the “governance framework of the company,” to ensure that it aligns with Australian Securities Exchange Corporate Governance Principles and best practice. In July 2023, Carr and Lin, alongside another departee, CFO Iris Ren, attempted to gain back control of the board – this was defeated. In the months that followed, Rathie took up the role of chair after Lin’s departure while then COO Richard Paine became interim CEO. Paine remained as chief executive until August 2023 when former non-executive director and board member Weine took up the post. Bubs’ latest financial results show that in the six months to 31 December 2023, revenue of AUD 39.4 million (approx. $25.8 million) was 25% up YOY, while the company’s net loss decreased from AUD 44.4 million (approx. $29.1 million) to AUD 7.7 million (approx. $5 million). *These currency exchanges use today’s (27 February 2024) exchange rate.

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