Former RFG boss takes $30m bath on shares
FORMER Retail Food Group CEO Tony Alford has sold the bulk of his individual stake in the flailing franchisor, cashing out as the share price dipped to its third consecutive day of record lows.
In a notice lodged with the ASX at 6.04pm, Mr Alford’s lawyer Peter Kumnick said his client was no longer a substantial holder in RFG after selling 7.88 million shares.
While Mr Alford sold some shares in October and December when they were trading as high as $4.50, the bulk were offloaded this month, after more than $600 million had been wiped from the company’s market capitalisation.
Based on the lodgement, Mr Alford sold his individual stake for about $6.8 million.
Those same shares were worth more than $40 million this time last year.
Tasmanian-born Mr Alford joined RFG in 1994 and was CEO within a decade, floating the group on the ASX and embarking on an acquisition spree that saw them swallow up some of the nation’s most prolific brands including Gloria Jeans, Pizza Capers and Brumby’s Bakeries.
Lat night’s announcement follows one in September, when Mr Alford lodged forms showing he’d sold 1.6 million shares for about $8.3 million.
In the same announcement he declared he had disassociated himself from 13 companies and trusts with total holdings of 2.48 million shares – then worth about $12.4 million.