Molson Coors Brewing Co. has ended an internal investigation into the sale of options by two of its executives after the merger of Adolph Coors Co. and Molson Inc. last year.
The company’s audit committee found no merit to a complaint about the sales and other matters, Molson Coors said in a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.
The 12-month investigation was conducted by the board of directors’ audit committee, in consultation with independent counsel, Molson Coors said. The counsel discussed the findings of the investigation with the SEC, the filing said.
Molson Coors spokesman Paul De La Plante said the Denver-based company is not disclosing any further details. The company has not disclosed who filed the complaint.
Don Hoerl, acting regional director of the SEC’s Denver office, couldn’t be reached for comment.
The complaint raised concerns about stock options exercised by chief executive Leo Kiely and chief financial officer Timothy Wolf after the merger of Adolph Coors Co.and Molson Inc. in February 2005. Previous SEC filings show that Wolf and Kiely together pocketed more than $1.6 million through stock options and sales about a week after the merger.
Some investors have sued the company, alleging its leaders misled Wall Street about a decline in business prior to the Feb. 9 merger.
After the merger, Molson Coors reported a first-quarter loss of $46.5 million. It attributed the loss to weak sales and severance pay for departing executives. Analysts had anticipated a profit, and the results caused the stock to drop $14.30 to close at $63, a 19 percent drop.
In June 2005, the company said the SEC had requested documents related to Molson Coors’ first quarter and the $3.4 billion merger that created the company. The SEC’s move came on the heels of the investor lawsuits.
In other news Thursday, the company’s stock tumbled $4.51 to close at $64.59 after a Bear Stearns analyst downgraded the shares.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
