Co-founder Kristo Käärmann gains enhanced voting rights in controversial move
The UK online payments company Wise is to move its main stock market listing to the US after shareholders approved the move.
Investors in Wise, one of the biggest financial technology businesses in the UK with a market value of about £11bn, voted on Monday in favour of a dual listing in the US in an attempt to attract more investors and boost its value.
The vote at the extraordinary general meeting was controversial because it was bound with also agreeing an extension of the company’s “dual-class” structure giving enhanced voting rights to those holding class B shares.
A chief beneficiary of this is the co-founder and chief executive, Kristo Käärmann, with his 18% economic interest in Wise becoming 55%, although his voting power is capped at 50%.
