SEC sues company over alleged bogus takeover bids
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. securities regulators on Friday sued a company that said it specialized in mergers and one of its founders, alleging they made bogus offers to buy such companies as Sony Corp. (6758.T) and Playboy Enterprises Inc. (PLA.N) in an effort to manipulate their stock prices.
Theodore Roxford, through Hollingsworth, Rothwell & Roxford (HRR), publicized the offers on Internet message board postings, news releases and in at least one case in a regulatory filing, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleged in a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court.
Besides Sony and Playboy, Roxford also made offers for Zapata Corp. (ZAP.N), Edgetech Services Inc. and PeopleSupport Inc. PSPT.O, according to the complaint. The alleged scheme took place between January 2003 and April 2007, it said.
"Roxford's intent in making the phony public tender offers was to manipulate the price of the target company's stock," the SEC alleged in the complaint. "Roxford and HRR did not intend to complete the offers, and did not have the financial means to do so."
Roxford formed HRR along with three other people in 2003, the SEC said.
Roxford's given name is Lawrence David Niren, which he changed in 1995, it said. He has also used other aliases, including Theodore Vakil and Edward Pastorini, according to the complaint.
