Steinhoff Ex-CEO Told Friends to Sell Stock Before Collapse
- Message sent by Jooste days before retailer’s accounts crisis
- Ex-CEO said last month he wasn’t aware of any wrongdoing
This article is for subscribers only.
Former Steinhoff International Holdings NV Chief Executive Officer Markus Jooste advised friends to sell the South African retailer’s shares days before the stock collapsed, according to a mobile phone text message seen by Bloomberg.
The message, sent around Nov. 30 to at least two people, told recipients there was impending, unspecified bad news coming. At the time, Steinhoff was in discussions with Deloitte LLP about the viability of its accounts. On Dec. 5, the company said it had uncovered accounting irregularities and that Jooste had quit, causing the shares to plunge 63 percent in a single session.