Kogan.com chief financial officer and chief operating officer David Shafer has sold two million shares in the online retailer he cofounded with Ruslan Kogan.
Shafer sold at $8 a share on March 7, worth $16 million, taking his stake through Shafer Corporation to below the 5% threshold of being a substantial shareholder in the ASX-listed company.
He still holds 3,225,642 Ordinary Shares, with options for 2.4 million more.
In a note to the ASX last week, Kogan.com pointed to the fact that Shafer had not sold down his stake in more than 2.5 years and “decided to diversify some of his investments”.
“He remains committed to the Company and has retained the majority of his shareholding. He also has equity-based compensation, including options to align his interests over the long term,” the Kogan.com statement said.
Shafer last sold 1 million shares in late August-early September 2021 at between $10.95 and $11.50 a share, and prior to that more than 2 million shares at $21.60 in July 2020 when the company peaked during the Covid pandemic.
He owned around 30% of the company when it floated in 2016 at $1.80 a share.
Kogan (ASX: KGN) shares have risen from a low of $3.42 in April last year to $8.54 today. They’ve nearly doubled in price from January 23’s close of $4.37, and are now at their highest price since December 2021.
The company released its half-yearly results last month announcing its first dividend in three years after posting a six-month net profit of $8.7 million to December 31. That was a turnaround of more than $30 million on the $23.8 million half-yearly loss 12 months ago.
Kogan.com has also been spending millions on share buy-backs over the past year, having acquired around 6.5 million shares of a 10.7m target under the plan, costing $17.2 million in the six months to December 31.
The buy-back program has been active again over the past week.
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