Calata lauds swift conduct of SEC probe

Agricultural products distributor Calata Corp. on Monday welcomed results of a recent government probe of the alleged manipulation of the company’s stock, leading to the possible filing of criminal charges against at least 10 brokers.

Calata Corp. chairman and CEO Joseph Calata said the listed firm was “grateful” to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the conduct of a swift probe.

Calata said he was informed that initial reports emanating from the SEC had indicated that it had already identified some individuals who might have been involved in activities that led to the spikes in its share prices two weeks after the firm’s initial public offering.

Calata had written the SEC to seek the probe of the sharp rise in its share prices.

Calata refused to speculate on the names of the individuals who might have been included in the SEC list.

“We support the SEC’s efforts at keeping this a low-profile investigation and preventing this probe from becoming a controversy,” he said. “In so doing, the SEC has made sure there would be no unnecessary panic in the market that could have been triggered by baseless speculations.”

“Let us allow the SEC to move on with the due process so that it can end this chapter and proceed with reforms in the stock market,” he said.

Calata said he believed the early completion of the SEC probe “helped maintain and preserve the confidence and trust of investors both on Calata Corp. and on the stock market.”

He also said the swift SEC probe would assure the market that any reasonable rise in the value of Calata Corp. shares were based solely on its performance and on the corresponding show of confidence by its investors both on the prospects and on the conditions of the environment of the business.