Valeant Pharmaceuticals directors, CEO ordered to cease trading shares by Quebec securities regulator

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc’s directors and key officers have received a cease-trade order through the securities regulator in the Canadian province of Quebec, around the company’s request, Valeant said on Thursday.

In another statement, the Autorit Des Marches Financiers (AMF) said an order against trading shares becomes effective Thursday and it is in place for 15 days. Contained in the order are Leader Mike Pearson, Chief Financial Officer Robert Rosiello and board member Bill Ackman.

The order states that AMF intends to issue a new order if Valeant does not make filings by April 15.

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The company is largely exhaust the United States, but it is headquartered in Laval, a suburb of Montreal, Quebec. The company can also be incorporated in the western Canadian province of Bc.

A spokesman for the British Columbia Securities Commission did not immediately react to a request for comment.

In an argument, Valeant said hello asked AMF for the cease-trade order, pending the filing of their 2015 audited fiscal reports.

“The company is working diligently and intends to make the required filings on or before April 29, 2016,” Valeant said.

The cease-trade order technically applies only to Quebec, but the practical effect of these orders in Canada, which does not have a national securities regulator, is to stop trading across the country, said Sylvain Theberge, spokesman for AMF, in an email to Reuters.


The persons affected have undertaken not to trade anywhere, such as the United States, he said.
Theberge said Valeant is not under active investigation by AMF, but has been under “verification,” since October. He declined to elaborate.

Valeant shares rose 0.2 percent in Toronto and Ny after earlier losses. The company’s stock has plummeted since August on the string of controversies, including U.S. government scrutiny of its drug price hikes and former ties to some specialty pharmacy.

The cease-trade order was initially reported by the Wall Street Journal.

? Thomson Reuters 2016