Calian shareholder Plantro concerned about buyback

An anonymous representative of Plantro reports PLANTRO VOICES CONCERN OVER CALIAN'S REACTIONARY SHARE BUYBACK ANNOUNCEMENT FOLLOWING ITS PROPOSAL Plantro Ltd., one of the largest shareholders of Calian Group Ltd., which owns more than 5 per cent of the company, reacted today with concern to Calian Group Ltd.'s announcement of a new normal course issuer bid, under which it plans to repurchase up to 10 per cent of the public float of the company's stock. Plantro, like many of the company's other shareholders, believes Calian has before it a once-in-a-generation growth opportunity, given the accelerated commitments by the Canadian federal government and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries to substantially increase defence spending. However, instead of prioritizing on this imminent opportunity to invest in Canada's defence sector, which is poised for significant growth, Calian's board and management appear more interested in financial engineering to prop up its share price using its already limited capital. This latest NCIB raises significant questions about the company's ability to effectively allocate capital for growth and suggests it lacks the focus required to address the true reasons for why its shares remain undervalued. Calian's lack of focus is hurting performance. The company's information technology and cyber solutions business was down 10 per cent last quarter and remains a persistent distraction for management. ITCS stifled the overarching performance of the rest of the business, which delivered 9-per-cent revenue growth and 10-per-cent adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization growth. Plantro urges the company to engage in constructive dialogue and work together to collectively unlock value for all shareholders. About Plantro Ltd. Plantro is a privately held company, with an established record of making successful investments in undervalued and high-quality legal, financial and information service businesses.