4 questions lodged at 2026 Etherstack (ESK) virtual AGM

Q1. Why did you do a $6.1 million big end of town placement in November last year and then not follow up with a share purchase plan for your more than 900 retail shareholders so that we could participate on the same terms? And why did we pay joint lead managers Veritas Securities and Canary Capital an excessive 6% fee? Did we run a competitive tender for broking services to try and keep the ticket clipping fees down? If not, why not?

Answer: The chair Peter Stephens didn't get a word in as founder, CEO and 34% shareholder David Deacon dominated the discussion. Also, this is how you clearly read a written AGM question. Super clear, great intonation from the question wrangler on “big end of town investors” and “ticket clippers”. The long winded Deacon monopolised the debate and on this question said they did run a tender but raising capital is expensive for small companies. Watch video of exchange via Twitter, plus these additional comments.

Q2. I'm a relatively new shareholder. Could founder, CEO and 34% shareholder David Deacon please briefly summarise the company's history in terms of being headquartered in Chippendale, incorporated in the UK, listed on the ASX, all while he runs the company from his base in New York? What is the rationale for this unusual structure and wouldn't it make sense to be more focused on a single jurisdiction?

Answer: The CEO gave an excellent detailed explanation saying the business was founded in Sydney in 1995, expanded offshore after 9-11, sold and then bought back. Primary R&D is in Sydney and the founder spent 20 years living offshore before finishing in Perth. Watch video of exchange via Twitter, plus these additional comments as he really went into detail.

Q3. Having served on the board since 2007 and as chair since 2012, could Peter Stephens please comment on his current intentions in terms of retirement and chair succession. How old is he and does he believe the next chair is currently serving on the board? Also, what is the history of his relationship with founder David Deacon? Some governance advisers challenge the independent classification of long serving directors. Does Peter regard himself as an independent director?

Answer: London-based chair Peter Stephens opened the AGM then was never heard from again, including on these questions about him. He tried to start answering the question - which was brilliantly read out by the wrangler - but then dominating CEO David Deacon said that he had the microphone and 3 minutes later wrapped up his speech declaring the question had been fully answered with not a peep from the chair who it was directed at. Remarkable stuff. An inquiry about the chair's age was deemed an invasion of privacy. He was a UK barrister in 1978 so must be in his 70s, which is all good and well. Watch video of exchange via Twitter, plus these additional comments by the long-winded CEO.

Q4. Resolution 6: "Why do we continue to signal a preference for raising capital through selective placements, rather than doing pro-rata raisings which treat all shareholders equally and don't require any specific shareholder approvals, such as this one. Please focus on pro-rata raisings in future and don't ask for this extra 10% placement capacity at next year's AGM. Have there been any material proxy protest votes on this resolution? And if you do a future placement, will retail shareholders be offered a Share Purchase Plan so they can participate on the same terms"

Answer: The Etherstack PLC question wrangler did such great job clearly reading the first 3 questions with no editing at their virtual EGM, so it was a shock when he became captain censor on this final question about placement capacity and future SPPs for retail shareholders, even providing the answer himself saying there hadn't been any protest votes. At least this avoided one final 3 minute speech from the CEO. Watch video of exchange via Twitter.

Copyright © 2026 The Mayne Report. All rights reserved

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