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AnonymousInactiveAn SEC Query for HP
The agency asked HP for a chronology of new CEO Mark Hurd’s job
negotiations and sales of NCR stock just before he left that companyThe Securities & Exchange Commission has asked
Hewlett-Packard for information about the timing of stock trades made by Chief
Executive Mark Hurd shortly before he was hired on March 29. BusinessWeek Online
has learned that the SEC sent the computer maker a letter in April requesting
information about the trades and the timing of its discussions with Hurd.
HP provided the requested information, and the SEC has not made any
additional requests, says a source familiar with the proceedings.ROUTINE MATTERS. The SEC inquiry relates to Hurd’s sale of
NCR while he was still CEO of that company, according to two sources with
knowledge of the matter. If Hurd knew he was a candidate for the top job at HP
at the time of the sales, the trades could constitute insider trading on his
part.It is unclear if there is an ongoing probe by the SEC. Since the
SEC declined to comment, it is not known whether the agency is still looking
into the case, or whether it has closed its inquiry. The SEC routinely sends out
thousands of inquiries each year, but investigates only a fraction of them.
Companies that receive such inquiries from the SEC are often stuck in limbo, as
the SEC almost never notifies companies if it has closed the books on a probe.According to public records, between Mar. 1 and Mar. 3, Hurd sold
approximately 36,000 NCR shares at around $39 per share, earning $1.4 million.
At the time, NCR’s stock was near an all-time high.“NO QUESTION WHATSOEVER.” NCR stock fell 17% on the day HP
announced Hurd’s appointment. That followed a 3% drop the previous day when
BusinessWeek Online reported that his selection might be imminent. Hurd was
hired by HP to replace former CEO Carly Fiorina, who was fired on Feb. 7.HP spokesman Robert Sherbin says that Hurd did not learn he was a
candidate for the HP job until shortly after his final NCR stock sale was
processed on Mar. 3. “The shares were sold before any discussion occurred with
HP, and there’s no question whatsoever about the propriety of the transactions,”
says Sherbin.HP has provided the SEC with information on Hurd’s trades,
along with a timeline of events that confirms his discussions with the company
took place after the trades, according to one source at HP with knowledge of the
SEC inquiry. Hurd decided to sell stock roughly a week before the last trades on
Mar. 3, but it took until that day for NCR to clear the sale by its then-CEO,
the source says.QUICK TO ACTION. It’s not
known whether Hurd, NCR, or Russell Reynolds Associates, the executive search
firm HP hired to find a new CEO, also received inquiries from the SEC. Hurd,
through an HP spokesman, declined comment. NCR and Russell Reynolds also
declined to comment. NCR has said in earlier statements that it followed proper
procedures, and that there was nothing improper about the trades.HP
received the request for information soon after The Wall Street Journal
published an article on Apr. 6 regarding Hurd’s stock sales. “The SEC is moving
rather quickly these days to get a handle on newsworthy events, so that scandals
don’t get out ahead of them,” says Georgetown University law professor Donald
Langevoort. “It’s premature to think there’s smoke, much less fire.” -
AuthorJune 14, 2005 at 11:01 AM
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