In a 300-page brief filed with a court in the Netherlands, Ahold has argued that the request by a Dutch shareholders group for a new probe into its billion-dollar financial scandal is inappropriate. The company noted that it already is being investigated by government authorities on both sides of the Atlantic, and that the shareholder group was not making a legitimate request.
The court is scheduled to hold a hearing on the subject on June 17.
Ahold has been dealing with the ramifications of the scandal, which involved overstatement of profits, for more than a year. Among the results: the forced resignations of senior executives in the US and the Netherlands, and the decisions to consolidate Stop & Shop and Giant of Landover operations as well as sell of Bi-Lo and Bruno’s as a way of saving money.
In a related story, Ahold CEO Anders Moberg told Reuters that he was confident that the company would be able to raise the equivalent of more than $3 billion from the sale of Bi-Lo, Bruno’s and Superdiplo in Spain, which will help its financial situation. He pledged that the disposition of the chains would not be a “fire sale.”
The court is scheduled to hold a hearing on the subject on June 17.
Ahold has been dealing with the ramifications of the scandal, which involved overstatement of profits, for more than a year. Among the results: the forced resignations of senior executives in the US and the Netherlands, and the decisions to consolidate Stop & Shop and Giant of Landover operations as well as sell of Bi-Lo and Bruno’s as a way of saving money.
In a related story, Ahold CEO Anders Moberg told Reuters that he was confident that the company would be able to raise the equivalent of more than $3 billion from the sale of Bi-Lo, Bruno’s and Superdiplo in Spain, which will help its financial situation. He pledged that the disposition of the chains would not be a “fire sale.”
- KC's View:
- Seems to us that shareholders have almost a better case than anyone for pushing for these sorts of investigations. After all, for them it isn’t just a matter of legality. It’s a matter of trust…and trust betrayed.
