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Leckie sells network shares

Seven boss David Leckie has sold off $18m worth of shares and is now left with a holding of just 67,000 shares.

leckieSeven CEO David Leckie, has sold nearly his entire holding of shares in the group – worth more than $18million at yesterday’s levels – with all the proceeds used to pay off loans he took to buy the shares.

The Australian notes the Seven stock was taken up by Mr Leckie in the form of executive options over several years, under a “cost collar” – or put option – financing arrangement that had been taken out with the Macquarie Group, according to forms filed with corporate regulators.

This put option deal – which was used as a form of insurance and covered most of Mr Leckie’s 3.06million Seven shares – expired on March 31.

The sale became necessary as the Seven share price had fallen in line with the broader media sector and market downturn: making it impossible for Mr Leckie to extend the put options.

As a result, he sold 2.99million shares worth more than $18million on yesterday’s stock price, which closed at $6.04 a share. At the start of 2008, they were trading at more than double that level, opening last year at more than $13 a share.

Mr Leckie is now left with a holding of just 67,000 Seven shares.

In a statement last night, Mr Leckie said: “In these times when it’s impossible to roll over cost collars, it’s necessary and prudent to sell the shares.”

Mr Leckie said the sale of the shares was not an indicator in any way of a lack of confidence in Seven. “The company is well placed with a strong balance sheet,” he said.

Source: The Australian

3 Responses

  1. While I’m not even going to pretend to understand the stock-market wankery described above, what it sounds like in the end is precisely what Leckie says it’s not – a clear indication of a lack of confidence in the network he runs.

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