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The competition watchdog has raided WiseTech Global, in another blow to the logistics software company, sending its shares plummeting.
WiseTech told the ASX on Wednesday that an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) search warrant had been executed on the company as part of an investigation into alleged breaches of competition law, requiring it to produce documents and electronic data relating to the supply of global logistics services and software. The company said it intended to fully cooperate. Its shares fell about 11 per cent to $38.58 soon after the announcement, and 9 per cent lower in late afternoon trade.
WiseTech has been embroiled in controversy over the past two years, and this action is the first by a regulator aimed squarely at the company rather than at billionaire founder Richard White personally. The Australian Federal Police is investigating White over allegations first reported by this masthead that he coerced a former WiseTech cleaner into a sexual relationship and provided false information to secure her a visa, claims he denies.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is separately investigating share trades worth more than $200 million that White made during a company blackout period. The company has previously said White obtained independent legal advice before undertaking the trades.
The stock remains about 70 per cent below its 2024 peak of $135.15.
WiseTech is not a household name, but its software sits in the plumbing of Australian trade. Customs brokers and freight forwarders use its CargoWise platform to lodge the declarations that clear imported goods through the border, so how that software is supplied and priced feeds into the cost of getting freight into the country.
WiseTech’s $US3.2 billion ($4.5 billion) acquisition of US rival e2open last year expanded its reach to more than 500,000 connected businesses. The company says it now serves about 22,000 logistics firms across 193 countries, including 46 of the world’s 50 largest third-party logistics providers.
The warrant follows a board shake-up in early July, when WiseTech appointed Raelene Murphy as independent chair and White moved to an executive director role while continuing as chief innovation officer. The industry superannuation fund HESTA called the appointment a positive step at the time but said uncertainty remained for investors, and kept the company on its watchlist.
An ACCC investigation does not mean the regulator has formed a view that the law has been broken. The watchdog can take civil proceedings in the Federal Court seeking penalties if it decides to act, and no allegations have been made in court.
The ACCC confirmed its investigation after WiseTech’s statement was issued to the ASX. “The ACCC’s investigation is ongoing and it will not comment further at this time,” the regulator said.
The embattled company has appointed four independent directors since March last year and says it is searching for a fifth, which would give independents a clear majority on the board. Chief executive Zubin Appoo, who took the role in July last year, has been presented by the company as central to its succession planning.
The company has also been contending with investor scepticism over the potential threat to its business model from artificial intelligence. In March, it said it would cut about 2000 roles, a third of its global workforce, arguing artificial intelligence could take over software development tasks. At the time, Appoo declared: “The era of manually writing code as the core act of engineering is over.”
Software stocks have been sold down over the past year on fears AI tools will erode the value of established platforms, and WiseTech has been among the hardest hit on the ASX.
Shares in the company have plunged about 40 per cent so far this year, but some analysts have argued the sell-off is overdone. RBC Capital Markets rates the stock “outperform” with a $70 price target, and said last month that the market would want evidence the refreshed board, chief executive and chief innovation officer were operating independently before any meaningful re-rating.