The CEO of a listed FinTech business has stepped down after an investment deal fell through.
Nick Cowan has left Valereum Plc with immediate effect amid a flurry of board changes at the firm, which is focused on tokenised digital markets.
In February Valereum – headquartered in Gibraltar and listed in London – signed binding heads of terms for a £19m investment from DMC Markets, alongside an additional £1m from a UK institutional investor, to accelerate its digital asset and blockchain expansion.
At the time, Cowan posted on X: “Huge thanks to my team & DMC, we’ve worked tirelessly to ensure this deal accelerates our growth and benefits our shareholders. This is just the beginning! Our global vision for 2025 is only getting stronger. ⚡️
“Watch this space.”
The deal, for a 48.86% stake in the company, was expected to fund four strategic acquisitions and support Valereum’s expansion across Australasia, Europe, North America and South America.
However following extensive due diligence and negotiations – and despite repeated assurances – Valereum says it ultimately became clear that DMC was not in a position to complete the transaction.
Further changes to the company’s board will see Gary Cottle step up from a non-executive director to executive director, while Karl Moss will step down from the board but retain his position as CFO.
Peter Sekhon will step down from the board and into a new role of business development, while continuing his investor relations responsibilities.
Valereum is looking to appoint Matthew Ripperger and Grant Gischen as non-executive directors.
Based in New York, Ripperger has over 25 years’ experience in investment management and expansive healthcare expertise. He served as managing director at Harbert Stoneview, prior to which he co-headed healthcare investments at TimesSquare Capital and Glenview Capital Management, including serving on the board of Tenet Healthcare. He has also held roles at Smith Barney, UBS Warburg, J.P. Morgan and Citigroup.
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Gischen is an experienced venture capital investor and strategic advisor with a global track record across deep tech and the energy transition. He is co-founder and partner at Energy Revolution Ventures (ERV), a UK-based VC firm investing in early-stage technologies in hydrogen and renewable fuels, carbon capture, energy storage and advanced materials. He began his career at Bain & Company, where he supported clients across private equity transactions, digital transformation, energy transition and infrastructure development.
Valereum also wishes to appoint John Evans as a board advisor.
Chairman of Valereum Plc, James Formolli, commented: “Valereum is now heading for the global stage, and the proposed board changes emphasise the expertise and experience required to take the next step.
“These are exciting times for Valereum and growth sometimes results in difficult decisions, both personally and professionally. The changes made reflect that, and I believe we are now better placed to take advantage of an exploding market. It became abundantly clear during the negotiations to conclude the DMC deal that we were ‘underselling’ the business.
“DMC was given a deadline and they failed to deliver on their obligation. Fortunately for us, it has played out in our favour.
“We recently announced strategic investments, with minimal dilution to Valereum, in DigiShares and Blubird, and a strategic partnership with Fideum. All three are world leaders in their field.”