Investors call for the resignation of 2 Imperial Holdings directors
Boca Raton, FL--On March 8th, NY based Bulldog Investors wrote a letter to Imperial Holdings (NYSE: IFT) requesting the resignation of 2 independent board members or possibly face a proxy shareholder voting contest.
In recent months, Imperial, who purchases structured settlement annuity and life insurance policy payments for cash lump sums, has had some legal troubles. First, the FBI raided their offices in September and last month the SEC launched an investigation against the company. In addition, they’re facing several shareholder class action securities fraud lawsuits and two major investors bailed on them. Imperial denies the allegations and the structured settlement business is not under investigation.
According to the letter, several key investors would like the replace the 2 members with directors who are significant shareholders. The letter also detailed shareholder concerns regarding the massive amount of money being spent on legal issues. The shareholders also did not like the company’s choice of law firms.
The investors gave the company until March 9th to reply. So far, there has not be any public acknowledgement regarding the company’s decision.
SEC Investigating Imperial Holdings for possible violations of federal securities laws
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) subpoenaed Imperial Holdings Inc. (NYSE: IFT) last week, according to The Wall Street Journal. The subpoena requested information regarding the company’s premium finance business.
According to the Imperial Premium Finance website, a premium finance transaction is when a life insurance policyholder obtains a loan against through an irrevocable life insurance trust established by the insured, to pay insurance premiums for a fixed period of time.
The SEC is requesting documents from 2007-present to investigate whether the company violated federal securities laws. Imperial went public in 2011 and on February 13, 2012 it was reported by numerous sources that the company lost 2 major investors.
Imperial Holdings signed a severance agreement with CFO and Chief Credit Officer Richard O’Connell Jr. on February 15, 2012. O’Connell will receive his base salary for 24 months and additional bonuses. Last month, Jonathan Neuman took a leave of absence from his duties as COO and President.
The company’s office was raided by the FBI in September 2011 due to an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire. As a result of the raid, shareholders filed class action securities fraud lawsuits against them.
Previously, Imperial Holdings announced that the investigation was into its life settlement business not its structured settlement business. Imperial has denied any wrongdoings and no other company officials besides Neuman are being targeted in the probe.
More bad news for Imperial Holdings as two major investors bail
Boca Raton, FL based Imperial Holdings (NY:IFT) got more bad news on Friday when 2 major investors sold their entire stakes in the company, according to the South Florida Business Journal.
The company’s office was raided by the FBI in September due to an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire. As a result of the raid, shareholders filed class action securities fraud lawsuits against them.
Previously, Imperial Holdings announced that the investigation was into its life settlement business not its structured settlement business. Imperial has denied any wrongdoings and no other company officials besides Jonathan Neuman are being targeted in the probe.
Last month, Neuman took a leave of absence from his duties as COO and President.
Pine Trading reported a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Friday that it no longer owns the 2.2 million shares of Imperial stock which represented approximately 9.5% of the company.
In another SEC filing on Friday, a three-way offshore partnership between Bahamas-based Chase Ridge Ltd., a British citizen residing in the Bahamas; and a branch office of Skarbonka Sp. in Luxembourg, sold all of 1.27 million shares in Imperial Holdings.
While other major investors haven’t jumped ship just yet, Imperial Holdings stock remains around $2.50/share up from a low of $1.55 on Sept. 28, 2011, the day after raid. The stock has not traded in the double digits since a few months prior to the raid.
Imperial Holdings executive takes a leave of absence
President and COO of Imperial Holdings, Jonathan Neuman, will take a 4 month leave of absence starting January 27, 2012, a company spokesperson said.
The Boca Raton based company had their offices raided in September by Federal authorities due to an investigation by the US Attorney’s office in New Hampshire. The South Florida Business Journal has also reported that Neuman was the only company official targeted by Federal investigators.
Previously, Imperial Holdings announced that the investigation was into its life settlement business not its structured settlement business. Imperial has denied any wrongdoings and no other company officials are being targeted in the probe.
Numerous shareholder class action securities fraud lawsuits have been filed against the company and their shares closed at $2.37. Antony Mitchell, CEO and Chairman of the Board will resume Neuman’s duties.
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