New York – Federal regulators have asked Molson Coors Brewing Co. to provide documents and other information about the February merger of Adolph Coors Co. and Molson Inc. which created the world’s fifth biggest brewer, according to a regulatory filing.
The company behind Molson Canadian, Coors Light, Carling and Keystone beers also said in today’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that beginning in May, several class-action lawsuits were filed against the company in the United States and Canada, alleging that Molson Coors and some of its officers and directors misled shareholders by not disclosing first-quarter business trends before shareholders voted on the merger in January and February.
The company said in the filing it “believes that the lawsuits are without merit and will vigorously defend them.” The SEC told the Golden, Colo.-based beer company that its request for merger documents should not be viewed as an indication that any laws were broken, Molson Coors said. The company said it is cooperating with the SEC’s inquiry, which also requests information about its first-quarter financial results.
On April 28, Molson Coors reported a first-quarter loss of $46.5 million, mainly due to special charges from the merger and lower sales in each of its four key markets. Excluding one-time items, it said its loss came to $5.1 million. But then on May 2, it revised the adjusted loss to $8.4 million to reflect a change in how it accounted for a minority interest Brazilian shareholder.
Molson and Coors completed their merger on Feb. 9.
Molson Coors’ Class B shares fell 2 cent to $58.62 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
