Kogan founders sell $40 million of shares

Dean Blake

4th Sep 2018

Kogan founders Ruslan Kogan and David Shafer have sold 6.25 million shares overnight, valued at approximately $40 million.

This transaction completes the current intention to trade by the founding directors, who have advised they have no intention to sell any securities prior to the release of the company’s financial results for the first half of 2019.

“It is great to see our work at Kogan.com continue to attract significant interest from both domestic and international shareholders who value our business strategy and execution,” Kogan chairman Gregg Ridder said.

“All shareholders will have the benefit of added depth and liquidity afforded by this transaction while maintaining our founders, Ruslan Kogan and David Shafer, interests in the Company at proportions amongst the highest on the ASX.”

This isn’t the first time the founders have sold a large amount of shares, with around $48.8 million of shares sold in June despite investor backlash due to an unsolicited bid for 6 million of their shares.

The founders “reluctantly” accepted the bid due to “personal financial commitments.”

At the time, the business noted that both founders remained fully committed and continue to have the majority of their personal wealth invested in the company – a statement that was repeated this morning.

Kogan Money

The move comes a few days after the online marketplace entered into multi-year agreements with Adelaide Bank and Pepper Group to offer competitive home loan products to Australian homeowners and investors under a new brand, Kogan Money.

The company will start offering home loans this fiscal year and continue to roll out a broader suite of financial products and services under the Kogan Money brand during the period.

The company said it aims to simplify credit and financial services and make them more affordable through digital efficiency, as it has done with mobile phone plans and insurance products already.

Kogan.com has not released information about rates, saying it will provide details of the offering closer to the launch date.