raidermatt
Be water, my friend.
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2000
Hmmm, is this the beginning of Testrack's coup?
Forbes
Disney board reviewing CEO buying IPO shares
Reuters, 12.17.02, 9:12 PM ET
By Peter Henderson
LOS ANGELES, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co. (nyse: DIS - news - people) said on Tuesday its board was reviewing Chief Executive Michael Eisner's participation in a 1999 initial public offering following a shareholder complaint, the latest allegation that a corporate chief unfairly profited from his position.
The request follows a recent decision by Ford Motor Co. (nyse: F - news - people) to investigate a similar complaint, which comes amid scandals at Enron Corp <ENRNQ.PK> , Adelphia Communications Corp <ADELQ.PK> and several other major companies.
Eisner purchased 30,000 shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (nyse: GS - news - people) in the investment bank's IPO, and Disney said its board, following routine corporate governance practices, had formed a committee of independent directors to review the matter.
"The committee is expected to report back to the board in early 2003. Mr. Eisner, a 10-year substantial private client of Goldman Sachs, participated in the offering at the invitation of his personal banker, and he has not participated in any other IPO," Disney told Reuters.
Disney is a corporate client of Goldman, which was co-lead manager with Salomon Smith Barney of a $300 million global bond offering by Disney on Monday.
Ford board last week agreed to study the acquisition by Chief Executive Bill Ford of 400,000 shares of the Goldman Sachs offering, sources familiar with the situation said. Ford was chairman of the auto maker at the time.
CALL FOR GREATER ACCOUNTABILITY BY DISNEY BOARD
A source familiar with the the Disney board decision said that the shareholder that had raised the Goldman Sachs issue with the board owned about 175 shares of Disney and was represented by the same law firm as in the Ford complaint, New York's Kirby McInerney & Squire, which specializes in class action suits.
The complaint comes amid heightened concern among shareholders about board oversight of management at major U.S. corporations.
Disney shareholders for the last year have called for greater accountability by its board, and the company recently revamped corporate governance standards in response.
The Disney complaint was similar to the Ford case, the source told Reuters. Both shareholders allege that the chief executives unfairly profited because the companies they headed were Goldman Sachs clients. Both complaints were also in the form of requests to the board, not lawsuits.
A representative of Kirby McInerney was not immediately available for comment.
It was not clear whether Eisner still owned the Goldman shares, which were offered in May 1999 at $53 each and closed at $74.69 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. They peaked at more than $130 in Sept. 2000.
Congressional investigators have charged that many heads of powerful U.S. corporations received privileged access to stock offerings managed by investment banks lobbying for business during the bull market of the late 1990s.
Forbes
Disney board reviewing CEO buying IPO shares
Reuters, 12.17.02, 9:12 PM ET
By Peter Henderson
LOS ANGELES, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co. (nyse: DIS - news - people) said on Tuesday its board was reviewing Chief Executive Michael Eisner's participation in a 1999 initial public offering following a shareholder complaint, the latest allegation that a corporate chief unfairly profited from his position.
The request follows a recent decision by Ford Motor Co. (nyse: F - news - people) to investigate a similar complaint, which comes amid scandals at Enron Corp <ENRNQ.PK> , Adelphia Communications Corp <ADELQ.PK> and several other major companies.
Eisner purchased 30,000 shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (nyse: GS - news - people) in the investment bank's IPO, and Disney said its board, following routine corporate governance practices, had formed a committee of independent directors to review the matter.
"The committee is expected to report back to the board in early 2003. Mr. Eisner, a 10-year substantial private client of Goldman Sachs, participated in the offering at the invitation of his personal banker, and he has not participated in any other IPO," Disney told Reuters.
Disney is a corporate client of Goldman, which was co-lead manager with Salomon Smith Barney of a $300 million global bond offering by Disney on Monday.
Ford board last week agreed to study the acquisition by Chief Executive Bill Ford of 400,000 shares of the Goldman Sachs offering, sources familiar with the situation said. Ford was chairman of the auto maker at the time.
CALL FOR GREATER ACCOUNTABILITY BY DISNEY BOARD
A source familiar with the the Disney board decision said that the shareholder that had raised the Goldman Sachs issue with the board owned about 175 shares of Disney and was represented by the same law firm as in the Ford complaint, New York's Kirby McInerney & Squire, which specializes in class action suits.
The complaint comes amid heightened concern among shareholders about board oversight of management at major U.S. corporations.
Disney shareholders for the last year have called for greater accountability by its board, and the company recently revamped corporate governance standards in response.
The Disney complaint was similar to the Ford case, the source told Reuters. Both shareholders allege that the chief executives unfairly profited because the companies they headed were Goldman Sachs clients. Both complaints were also in the form of requests to the board, not lawsuits.
A representative of Kirby McInerney was not immediately available for comment.
It was not clear whether Eisner still owned the Goldman shares, which were offered in May 1999 at $53 each and closed at $74.69 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. They peaked at more than $130 in Sept. 2000.
Congressional investigators have charged that many heads of powerful U.S. corporations received privileged access to stock offerings managed by investment banks lobbying for business during the bull market of the late 1990s.