Posted on 04/11/2007 8:45:48 AM PDT by DogBarkTree
The chief financial officer of Menu Foods Income Fund says it was a "horrible coincidence" that he sold nearly half his units in the pet food company less than three weeks before a massive product recall.
Insider trading reports confirm that Mark Wiens sold 14,000 units, or 45 per cent of his stock, for $102,900 on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27, reports The Globe and Mail. The shares would be worth $62,440 at current prices.
Wiens still owned 17,193 units and options to purchase 101,812 units after the sale.
"It's a horrible coincidence, yes . . ." Wiens told The Globe.
"I hold myself to the highest ethical and moral standards possible. I wouldn't do anything to imperil the high governance standards that I demand of myself or anybody in the company."
Wiens said the first reports about pet-related illnesses connected to Menu Foods products were made in late February.
However, he said that he did not hear about the issue until early March.
The Streetsville, Ont. company eventually issued a recall for 60 million containers of dog and cat food on March 16.
"In terms of process, during any given year, we get consumer complaints all the time and it becomes matter of course for our technical people, so it's not something that necessarily gets flagged right to the top on an ongoing basis," said Wiens.
Paul Henderson, the president and chief executive of Menu Foods, said his company severed its relationship with its Chinese supplier of wheat gluten on March 6. Melamine in the supplied wheat gluten has been identified as the root of the problem.
Henderson said in a recent press conference that by March 6, it was evident that "something was wrong" with some of the company's products.
Wiens said he has not been contacted by the Ontario Securities Commission or any other regulators since the problems erupted at Menu Foods.
OSC spokesperson Wendy Dey told the Globe that the commission reviews insider trading reports routinely but she said they do not comment on individual cases.
Wiens explained that he sold his shares for financial planning purposes and that he was prohibited from selling until Feb. 16 because of an implemented blackout period.
He said he recognized why questions would arise about his trade.
"Certainly there would be questions when you piece all the timing together. I understand that," he said.
Multiple manufacturers have since recalled their pet foods after using the same supplier.
It could be a coincidence but it sure don’t look good.
So now anyone who makes money off of company stock is suspect? Thats absurd. All the pet food companies used the same supplier. Unless the CFO was in bed with a supplier who was knowingly selling bad stuff, which I doubt, then thats all this is- a coincidence..
Hope he enjoys prison because he's gonna find out why they call it the pokey.
A canadian Ivan Boesky?
The Special Kitty pouch tuna that I was using became unavailable in my local area Wal-Mart stores back in December or so, I am curious if that is a coincidence, or if it was pulled because of the (then) upcoming recall? It is one of those listed.
My dogs eat dry food but they’re barely eating any of that these days because I’m making most of their food for them.
“horrible coincidence” he engaged in a personal cashout while thousands of beloved pets were being fed life-ending industrial waste. How very unfortunate indeed.
I hope they really hound him on this. I know the SEC can be pretty dogged in pursuing cases like this one, but sometimes they just play cat and mouse. In any event, he’s really in the dog house!
more fuel for Senator Durbins fire
That would really stink if it was your retirement you needed in a few years....
I believe him.
Unless it turns out that he had some convincing advance of the poisoning before the complaints became public, it probably is a coincidence. Especially if he’s in the habit, as some execs are, of routinely selling the stock they routinely acquire as vested compensation.
It's called something else if he never sold any of his stock previously.
Is that not a part of the public record? Wonder if it is findable on the internet.
I’m inclined to believe it. I don’t know what his salary is, but it doesn’t seem like a lot of stock or a lot of money for what I gather is a fairly large company.
In the 3 weeks before any of this crap happened, hundreds of tons of dog food would have been processed and cycled through after the sale of the stock. Theres nothing there.
Really, how in the world could he have possibility known there was going to be a bad batch of wheat gluten from China? And if he did know, why in the world would he allow it to happen, knowing (theoretically) that both pets and his company would suffer?
I think its just and awful and lucky coincidence.
If you read the article closely, the sale was three weeks before the recall, but after the initial reports of problems. This timing is very suspicious.
That's how I see it, too..
There are in fact certain rules that apply to cororate officers as to when they can and cannot sell shares.
This boils down to when was he advised about the problem and when did he enter the documents to sell his shares.
i like to think not guilty until proven otherwise, call me conservative.
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