GATINEAU, Que. – A court order obtained by the Competition Bureau will require legal-software company Dye & Durham Ltd. to release records related to its business practices, the federal watchdog agency said Thursday.
It’s the latest development in an ongoing Competition Bureau probe, which aims to determine if Toronto-based Dye & Durham has engaged in anti-competitive behaviour and abused its dominant position in the market.
The bureau is examining what it calls certain Dye & Durham practices that may prevent competing software firms from supplying products or services to legal practitioners.
While no conclusion of wrongdoing has been made, the Competition Bureau said in a news release Thursday it is seeking information from the public to advance its investigation. It said it welcomes feedback from legal-software users and providers.
Dye & Durham’s stock price immediately sank on the news, and was down more than 17 per cent as of midday trading Thursday.
In a news release, Dye & Durham said it is fully co-operating with the Competition Bureau’s investigation and will “continue to take steps to inform and educate the bureau on its business and industry practices.”
The company went on to say it is concerned the Competition Bureau may be acting on allegations from industry competitors who have “resisted productivity enhancing innovation.”
It said it is also concerned the bureau’s allegations “improperly contextualize” commercial relationships and standard software industry business practices.
At the same time it is being investigated for potential anticompetitive behaviour, Dye & Durham has been trying to defend itself against an aggressive activist investor.
New York-based Engine LLP, which owns approximately 7.1 per cent of the company’s stock, has proposed its own slate of rival candidates for election to Dye & Durham’s board of directors at its upcoming annual general meeting.
Engine said this week that a boardroom overhaul is warranted at Dye & Durham after what it called “years of disappointing shareholder returns, value-destructive M&A, high employee turnover, inappropriate executive compensation and anti-shareholder action.”
Dye & Durham responded by saying that Engine’s attempt at a wholesale replacement of the board and management team puts the company’s “extraordinary track record and future trajectory at risk.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
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