Why Is FRMI Stock Surging Premarket Today?

In a letter to shareholders, co-founder Tony Neugebauer said he had “a high degree of confidence” in a soon-to-be-announced tenant deal.

• Neugebauer said recent developments have strengthened his confidence that Fermi is close to announcing a tenant or joint-venture agreement, citing TDK's completion of the Fermi 2.0 engineering and project management agreement. 
• He also added that the transition to the "Fermi 2.0" strategy was intended to meet the requirements of large customers.
• Neugebauer's letter to shareholders comes amid a proxy campaign following his removal from his position as CEO and board member in April.

Fermi LLC (FRMI) shares rallied nearly 9% in the premarket session on Thursday after the company's co-founder and largest individual shareholder, Toby Neugebauer, said he expected a tenant deal announcement soon.

In a letter to shareholders, Neugebauer said he had “a high degree of confidence” about the deal announcement, adding that, ”I can say that because our deal team was in the contracting phase before our departure.”

Tenant Confidence

Neugebauer said recent developments have strengthened his confidence that Fermi is close to announcing a tenant or joint venture agreement, pointing to TDK's completion of the Fermi 2.0 engineering and project management agreement and the company's own statement that it expects to announce one or more such transactions.

“Assuming the Company's announcement is the group we teed up, the Neugebauer family likes that tenant a lot,” he said.

He also added that the transition to the "Fermi 2.0" strategy was intended to meet the requirements of large customers. “I know the project financing market was ready as well—we built that trust with them most notably from our firm stance on tenant one,” Neugebauer said.

Fermi: Proxy War

Neugebauer's letter to shareholders comes amid a proxy campaign after he was removed from his position in April. Fermi then appointed an interim leadership team to search for a permanent CEO.

In response, Neugebauer launched a proxy campaign to call a special meeting, advocating for board changes, stronger corporate governance, and a review of all strategic alternatives, including a potential sale of the company.

Fermi pushed back, rejecting Neugebauer's proposal to sell the business and instead reaffirming its commitment to its "Fermi 2.0" strategy.

Neugebauer called on shareholders to vote for a Special Meeting to decide on Board composition. Neugebauer argued that while a tenant announcement could boost Fermi's stock in the near term, it would only mark the beginning of the company's execution phase and should not preclude the board from evaluating other strategic alternatives.

“The proxy was never about a tenant. It was about restoring normal governance to Fermi, ensuring all strategic alternatives are honestly evaluated, and giving every shareholder the best risk-adjusted outcome,” Neugebauer said in the letter. “A tenant deal and broken governance can both be true at the same time,” he added.

FRMI: Retail Stance

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around FRMI dropped from ‘neutral’ to ‘bearish’ territory over 24 hours amid ‘high’ message volumes.

One user said, “that pr stunt may get him in trouble.”

View this Stocktwits post

Another user said, “Toby is a nut case. Totally unprofessional to put a speculative press release out like this.”

View this Stocktwits post

FRMI shares have plunged more than 75% in the past year.

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