Debra Borchardt
Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE: ACB) said that former CEO Terry Booth has filed a report on the System for Electronic Disclosure by Insiders (SEDI) regarding his sale of approximately 12,161,900 shares into the open market. Aurora stock was lately trading at 70 cents a share, down considerably from the company’s 52-week high of $10.32. Still, the sale would bring Booth roughly $8 million.
Executive Chairman and Interim CEO Michael Singer stated, “The Board and management remain focused on the plan we laid out in February and we are progressing as planned toward appropriate capital allocation, balance sheet strength, and profitability. We look forward to updating the markets on our next quarterly earnings call.”
Restructuring
Just last month the company announced a restructuring that included the resignation of Booth, who was the company’s founder. The company also cut 500 full-time positions including 25% of its corporate jobs and is restructuring spending across the board. Aurora said its plan was to get the SG&A to a range between $40 million to $45 million per quarter by the end of the fiscal fourth quarter of 2020, a significant decrease from the preliminary fiscal second-quarter 2020 range announced today.
Singer was named interim CEO at the time and said, “I look forward to serving as Interim CEO and executing on our short-term plans, which include rationalization of our cost structure, reduced capital spending, and a more conservative and targeted approach to capital deployment. These are necessary steps that reflect a fundamental change in how we will operate the business going forward.” Singer continued, “As one of the original cannabis visionaries, Terry is an invaluable resource with deep industry knowledge that we can leverage strategically. I look forward to having him continue on as a Senior Strategic Advisor to our Board of Directors.”
