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Pacific Smiles (ASX: PSQ) has received a resignation letter from CEO Andrew Vidler less than eight months after he started in the position, following what has been a tumultuous period for the dental care network as a takeover target.
His announced departure, which is subject to six-month notice terms while the board searches for a replacement, also follows the resignation of chief financial officer Matthew Cordingley a week ago.
Both will stay with the business during a transition period with final dates of employment yet to be determined
Vidler's appointment was announced in December 2023 just one day after Genesis Capital launched its $233 million takeover bid for Pacific Smiles, while today's resignation announcement almost one month after shareholders gave insufficient support to a $327 million offer from National Dental Care (NDC), against the board's recommendations.
Some 81.4 per cent of shareholders voted in favour of the NDC scheme, but this was reduced to 63.31 per cent when considering the number of shares associated with votes - short of the 75 per cent required for the motion to pass.
The shortfall was largely the result of a 19.9 per cent shareholding in Pacific Smiles built up by Genesis since it started the bidding war.
When appointed late last year ahead of a mid-January commencement date, Vidler described the takeover approach from Genesis as evidence for Pacific Smiles' strong financial position, talented team and market-leading brand, adding it was an "exciting time to join the business".
Before joining the company, Vidler had been executive general manager for retail at Wesfarmers (ASX: WES), and prior to that had been executive general manager at EBOS Group (ASX: EBO) where for more than 20 years he held leadership roles at Symbion, Mayne Group and FH Faulding.
The board has thanked Vidler for joining Pacific Smiles at a time of "significant ambiguity and stepping up to lead the company through the receipt of multiple change of control proposals and the scheme process".
"Mr Vidler has had a strong focus on bringing the team together and keeping them delivering best practice services to our patients and dentists," says Pacific Smiles chair Giselle Collins, who assumed chair responsibilities late last month after her predecessor Zita Peach took flight.
"We recognise the challenge he faced managing the business alongside the transaction workload whilst delivering strong financial results. We wish him every success in his new endeavour."
Whilst Vidler was at the company for less than half of the full financial year, in FY24 the group reported a 7.9 per cent increase in patient fees to $291.8 million, while underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) almost doubled to $8.9 million.
"We are exceptionally pleased with this year’s result, which is a real testament to the team’s commitment," Vidler said at the time.
"Our focus on the utilisation of existing centres and to drive growth in patient fees has underpinned this performance. Utilisation has improved across the business, especially among our newer cohorts.
"Our revenue growth and ongoing efficiency improvements drove margin improvement, offsetting the impact of inflationary cost pressures."
According to a preliminary final report released by the company last month, costs associated with control transaction proposals and the scheme of arrangement that failed with NDC amounted to $2.3 million.
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