Dye & Durham Ltd. DND-T stock plummeted for the second time in a week Thursday after the company disclosed that CIBC Capital Markets had backed out of leading D&D’s sale process, three days after being announced as an adviser to the embattled real estate software provider.
The Toronto company said in a release that CIBC CM-T “has decided not to proceed as financial adviser,” adding the board was looking to hire a replacement and remains committed to a strategic process that could lead to its sale.
Dye & Durham stock hit an all-time low of $4.20 before closing at $4.33, down 16.7 per cent on the day.
The stock also fell sharply on Monday after ex-chief executive officer Matt Proud withdrew his offer to buy the company for $10.25 a share. It has shed more than one-third of its value this week and is 81-per-cent off its 52-week high from last December.
D&D has had a brutal 2025, following Mr. Proud’s exit and the election of a new board last December after a successful activist campaign led by hedge fund Engine Capital LP.
The new board’s efforts to hire a CEO dragged on as D&D’s results disappointed and it rehired and then quickly fired a former chief financial officer.
D&D also had to seek permission from its lenders to delay filing its annual financial statements, which remain overdue.
Also this month, S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Ratings cut their credit ratings on the company, flagging concerns about its leadership and governance issues.
Mr. Proud led his own activist campaign against his former company earlier this year, agreeing to back off in July when D&D reached a standstill agreement with him.
Under the deal, D&D appointed a new director suggested by Mr. Proud, one of the company’s largest shareholders through his private company Plantro Ltd., and it promised to launch a strategic review by the end of the year.
Then last month, Mr. Proud tabled his offer, supported by former board members Tyler Proud – his brother – and Ronnie Wahi. D&D responded by enacting a poison pill to prevent what it warned could be a creeping takeover.
Mr. Proud blamed his decision to pull the offer on a “material deterioration” in D&D’s earnings, a lack of engagement by the board on his offer, concerns about potential debt default and the recent sale of a British business owned by the company, among other reasons.
The company hit back with a lawsuit to enforce their co-operation agreement and accused Mr. Proud of making misleading statements about its financial leverage and future prospects.
D&D said in its release Thursday it was nonetheless willing to settle its litigation if Mr. Proud and Plantro “unequivocally reaffirm their commitment to the bargain struck in July, abide by the Cooperation Agreement and respect the principles of a fair and transparent strategic review.”
D&D’s continuing turmoil follows years of concerns by large shareholders about the acquisitive company’s rising debt, its management and governance under Mr. Proud’s leadership, which culminated in their support for Engine’s campaign last year. Engine founder Arnaud Ajdler is chairman of D&D.