The Urvan Group, owner of approximately 17.1 percent of outstanding common shares of Ammo, Inc., issued a statement in connection with its nomination of seven candidates for election to Ammo’s Board of Directors at the 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Urvan Group is offering to collaborate with Ammo’s Board to set a fall 2022 date for its Annual Meeting.
Urvan Group is led by Steven Urvan, Ammo’s largest shareholder and chief strategy officer. Urvan sold GunBroker.com, a company he founded and ran for over two decades, to Ammo in 2021.
On August 29, Urvan Group nominated seven board members after Ammo announced this month plans to separate its manufacturing and online marketplace, 16 months after completing the acquisition of GunBroker.com.
Urvan Group seeks to boost Ammo’s profit through e-commerce in firearms, outdoor sporting and related goods, and cancel the spin-off.
On September 7, Urvan and GunBroker.com’s CFO, Susan Lokey, were placed on administrative leave related to the Board’s nominations.
In his statement Monday, Urvan commented:
“Since nominating a slate of director candidates with expertise in corporate governance, capital markets and e-commerce, I have been overwhelmed by the supportive feedback from fellow shareholders. Understandably, many shareholders have asked when the current Board intends to schedule the Company’s Annual Meeting. This is why the Urvan Group is offering to collaborate with the Board to set a fall 2022 date for the Annual Meeting, effectively ensuring shareholder democracy can play out in a timely manner. In my view, neither side should need pre-conditions or qualifying terms to give shareholders what they deserve and want.
“I also want to take this opportunity to make clear that I remain open to working with the Board and its independent members to avoid an expensive and protracted contest. In this spirit, I want to remind independent directors Richard Childress, Jessica Locket, Harry Markley, and Russell William “Rusty” Wallace, Jr. that they owe fiduciary duties to Ammo shareholders. These duties should not be compromised for insiders’ objectives or to effectuate any dilutive transaction that would serve solely to entrench present leadership. Likewise, independent directors should not allow shareholders’ capital to be wasted on defensive entrenchment tactics. The Urvan Group, and presumably other investors, will seek to hold these individuals responsible if they authorize a dilutive transaction or squander shareholders’ capital on defensive maneuvers.
“Lastly, please trust that Susan Lokey and I have always conducted ourselves with integrity and held ourselves to the highest standards while working to create value for our customers and investors. I am confident that our fellow shareholders will see through the misleading claims that were levied at us and focus on what really matters: choosing the most qualified directors to help pursue a value-enhancing transformation of Ammo. The reality is that I am investing my own time, energy and money in a campaign to strengthen the Company for the long term. I am confident my actions and ideas, not manufactured claims, will inform how shareholders view myself and the Urvan Group.”
