Shareholders welcome back CEO

BBX Capital’s Alan Levan was cleared of SEC charges

At an annual meeting that was part rousing return and part statement of vindication, BBX Capital CEO Alan Levan thanked dozens of shareholders for their support Tuesday in the wake of his being cleared of charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“What happens in most companies when these actions are commenced by the SEC is the directors get quite concerned and generally the CEO is no longer there,” Levan told the audience. “My thanks to our directors for believing the company and I had done everything correctly — standing by us and allowing us to grow the business as we did.”

To applause, Levan said they were celebrating both the five years since the sale of BankAtlantic, which he once headed, and a federal jury’s decision to clear himself and the bank of SEC allegations that they misled investors during the financial crisis.

He credited the BBX Capital executive team for reinventing the company while the SEC pursued its case and “we had our hands tied behind our back.”

All along, Levan maintained his innocence, saying that BankAtlantic was even earlier than other banks in disclosing troubled assets during the financial crisis. Levan successfully fought a two-year ban as a company officer at BBX Capital during which his son Jarett Levan assumed the responsibilities. Alan Levan was named CEO again in February.

On Tuesday, seats at the meeting in downtown Fort Lauderdale were filled with 70 shareholders, a stark contrast against last year when there were only a handful in attendance, noted longtime shareholder Paul Sterman of Coral Springs. Sterman said he decided to stand by both the company and Levan, believing there was an 80 percent to 90 percent chance they would be cleared.

While the SEC does have a period to appeal the jury’s decision, the regulatory agency issued a statement last week saying, “While we are disappointed with the outcome, we respect the jury’s verdict.”

Instead of dwelling Tuesday on the nine-year ordeal of fighting in court, Levan focused on the future of BBX Capital, once the holding company for BankAtlantic, which was sold in 2012 to BB&T of North Carolina.

BBX Capital is now invested in real estate, hospitality, “sweets and treats,” vacation timeshares and interior home furnishings.

Levan said due to the SEC charges, the company couldn’t even get a new bank account much less a new listing on a major stock exchange. Now that the litigation is over, the company will explore listing on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq, he said. The stock currently is listed in the over-the-counter market.

The chief executive praised shareholders who stood by him, saying the stock’s current worth of more than $7 a share shows how “smart” they were. The stock was as low as 35 cents in 2011. “The stock has increased 2,100 percent. If you bought $10,000 worth in 2011, it’s worth $210,000 now. If you bought $100,000, it’s worth $2.1 million,” Levan pointed out.

“We have been very successful in buying company assets that have some element of distress,” he said.

After acquiring initial stock in Boca Raton-based vacation home company Bluegreen, BBX Capital bought shares from a distressed seller to acquire 52 percent and now owns all of the company, which has grown in value since the recession. BBX Capital has a total $1.4 billion in assets, including Bluegreen and other holdings, Levan said.

BBX Capital is partnering with established companies including developer Joel Altman, a fourthgeneration Florida builder, on constructing apartment buildings.

The company also has “early stage” holdings that include Hoffman’s Chocolates retail stores and the MOD Pizza franchise for Florida.

One thing Levan said he won’t do is any quarterly conference calls. It was three sentences from a BankAtlantic conference call that landed him back in court for the latest SEC trial.

“We will never do another conference call. It’s too dangerous, too risky,” he told the shareholders.