Plans for money transfer services provider Wise to move its primary stock market listing from the UK to the US have been approved by a High Court judge.
The British company announced the proposal last June to switch its primary listing from the London Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq composite by creating a new holding company, in a bid to tap into a wider pool of banking customers and investors.
It also disclosed plans to extend the voting rights of so-called Class B shareholders by another decade.
In July last year, Wise’s co-founder, Taavet Hinrikus, described the firm’s plans as “inappropriate and unfair” in a letter to shareholders through his investment vehicle Skaala Investments OU, which owns about 5% of shares in the fintech company.
But at a hearing on Monday, barristers for Wise asked a judge to approve the plans, which they said had been unanimously recommended by its directors and approved by the majority of shareholders.
Mr Justice Hildyard said that the “sub-plot” involving Mr Hinrikus was “uncomfortable”, but said: “Overall I am satisfied that I should, in my discretion, sanction the scheme.”
A dual-class shareholding structure means the Class B shareholders have more than 90% of the voting rights.
Such structures have faced criticism for giving minority stakeholders an oversized voting power on a company’s proposals.
In his letter last July, Mr Hinrikus said that the proposal “deprives owners of a fair choice” and “prejudices Class A shareholders by diluting their voting power”.
Wise’s board said it “takes Mr Hinrikus’s views seriously” but disagreed with his view.
It said the plans would bring “greater visibility in the US, the biggest market opportunity for our products today”, while a dual-class share structure was “essential to ensuring our continued successful performance and safeguarding our focus on executing our strategy”.
Barrister Andrew Thornton KC, for Wise, said in written submissions for Thursday’s hearing that there had since been “no further correspondence” from Skaala.
In court, he said that “when push comes to shove”, those who had raised concerns about the proposals “are prepared to wear it in order to get the Nasdaq listing”.
No-one appeared in court to oppose the plans being approved.
The court heard that the scheme will become effective on May 8 and that the company plans to be listed on the Nasdaq composite on May 11.
Wise, which was launched in 2011 under its original name TransferWise, plans to keep a secondary listing in London and said last year that it will continue hiring and investing in the UK.
