NEW YORK, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Investment firm Daventry
Group has urged Kinaxis ( KXSCF ) to put itself up for sale,
calling the Canadian software company a high quality asset that
many buyers would pay a "healthy premium" to own.
Daventry, which has been an investor in Kinaxis ( KXSCF ) since March
2021, told the board of directors that years of errors have
caused the supply chain management software maker to be
undervalued but that new owners could repair the damage quickly.
Kinaxis' ( KXSCF ) problems are not related to its products nor the
market, Daventry wrote in a letter seen by Reuters, noting that
it sells some of the "stickiest software in the world."
Rather the issues are "self-inflicted and
execution-related," the letter said laying out how Kinaxis' ( KXSCF )
share price has dropped nearly 20% since the end of 2020 while
its rivals, including Manhattan Associates ( MANH ), have seen their
share price climb.
"The Board should immediately initiate a sale process and
allow another organization, whether a strategic or financial
sponsor, that understands how to scale a software business to
finally unlock Kinaxis's ( KXSCF ) value and capitalize on its strong
competitive positioning," the letter said.
A company representative was not immediately available for
comment.
Daventry Group LP, which together with its affiliates,
beneficially owns or controls approximately 1.4% of the
outstanding stock of Kinaxis Inc. ( KXSCF )
The investment firm is making its recommendation just weeks
after the company said long-time CEO John Sicard will leave by
year's end. It worries the current board and its chair Bob
Courteau may bungle finding Sicard's replacement.
Recent executive turnovers "leave a massive vacuum in
leadership at Kinaxis ( KXSCF ) heading into the company's most important
selling months of the year, making the immediate initiation of a
sale process imperative," the letter said.