By Nate Wolf
Fermi is locked in a feud with its former CEO and largest shareholder just days after firing him for undisclosed reasons.
The stock has bounced around on all the C-suite action. Shares tumbled 18% on Monday, the first day of trading after the leadership shake-up. They spiked 14% to $5.79 on Wednesday.
The AI start-up removed Toby Neugebauer on Friday. By Monday, Neugebauer was urging the sale of the company that he co-founded. He still sits on Fermi's board.
Neugebauer's ouster came less than a month after Fermi confirmed it hasn't signed a cornerstone tenant for its 7,570-acre Project Matador site in Amarillo, Texas.
After Tuesday's market close, Fermi dismissed Neugebauer's call for a sale.
"The Company firmly believes a sale is not in the best interest of its continued momentum on Project Matador, ability to serve potential tenants and long-term value creation for shareholders," Fermi said in a statement.
Potential tenants along with suppliers, financing sources, and Texas Tech University, Fermi's landlord, had given "significant and positive feedback" about the CEO change, the company said. Chief Operating Officer Jacobo Ortiz Blanes and board advisor Anna Bofa are serving as interim co-CEOs.
Still, Neugebauer's call carries weight because of the large number of shares that he; his company, Vicksburg Investments Management; and his wife's trust own -- 24.1%, according to a November SEC filing. His wife's trust flexed its muscle when it elected Miles Everson to the board over the weekend. Everson resigned his post as chief financial officer after Neugebauer's firing.
The feud adds to the pressure on Fermi right now because of the high stakes with Project Matador -- the need to attract a major tenant and the need to secure the financing for construction.
Shareholders can trigger a special meeting with 50% voting power, according to the company's policies. Neugebauer and his allies wouldn't need to drum up much support to force a meeting.
In its statement, Fermi "strongly encouraged" shareholders to read its proxy statement if it pre-empted Neugebauer's pressure and chose to hold a special meeting itself.
Write to Nate Wolf at nate.wolf@barrons.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 22, 2026 11:41 ET (15:41 GMT)
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