Mamma.com under formal SEC investigation
An informal probe of Canadian search engine company Mamma.com, by the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has become a formal investigation according to a press release sent out earlier this week.The release stated, “The company believes that as part of its investigation, the SEC may consider matters related to trading in the company’s securities and whether an individual and persons acting jointly or in concert with him may have had a significant influence on the Company in the past as a result of undisclosed shareholdings.”
The investigation stems back to questions regarding control and ownership of a significant number of shares in the firm, and whether an individual or group of investors worked to influence the company based on previously undisclosed shareholdings. The SEC became interested in Mamma.com when their stock prices suddenly started to bounce rising from $4 – 14 per share over a three-month period in early 2004. Shares closed today in the $3.20 range.
The release went on to say that Mamma.com suspects the SEC will examine, “matters relating to the company’s financial reporting and internal controls”. Mamma.com announced the loss of its auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers in early March. That setback that made presenting the 2004 financial results impossible by the March 31 deadline imposed by Canadian securities laws.
