Hexagon defends delay in
disclosing CEO investigation
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[November 01, 2016]
By Johannes Hellstrom and Anna Ringstrom
STOCKHOLM
(Reuters) - Swedish measurement technology and software firm Hexagon
defended the time it took to announce the arrest of its Chief Executive
Ola Rollen over alleged insider trading in Norway.
The company said on Monday that Norway's economic crime authority had
accused Rollen of insider trading in connection with an investment in
Norwegian company Next Biometrics ASA in October last year, a
transaction which did not involve Hexagon.
Rollen, who is now being held in Oslo, has denied wrongdoing in a
statement issued by his lawyers.
A Nordic arrest warrant was issued by Norway on Oct. 23, a copy of the
warrant obtained by Reuters showed.
Hexagon, a company Rollen turned from a sprawling conglomerate into one
of Sweden's most valuable companies, said it had learned of his arrest
late on Oct. 26, the day he was detained in Stockholm.
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"But at that point we only had very summary and conflicting information.
During Thursday and Friday we learned that a detention hearing would
take place on the Saturday in Oslo," Hexagon said in e-mailed comments.
"We then took the decision to delay the publication of this information
until we had a more complete picture."
Rollen was allowed to present Hexagon's third-quarter financial results
in a conference call on Friday, Oct. 28, conducted in the presence of
Swedish authorities.
He canceled a planned telephone call with media, including Reuters.
The company issued a statement about his detention only on Monday, Oct
31.
Hexagon shares fell 10 percent on Monday after the news of Rollen's
detention was published. Its shares fell a further 1.9 percent by 0825
ET on Tuesday.
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![](../images/110116pics/busine55.jpg)
Chief executive of Swedish engineering group Hexagon AB Rollen
gestures during a news conference in Zurich. REUTERS/Siggi Bucher
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A district court in Norway has ordered Rollen to be detained for a week
and he has been transferred to the Norwegian capital.
Hexagon's decision to delay making the information public was possible
under European Union regulations and the rules of the Stockholm stock
market, said Joakim Strid, Head of European Surveillance at the Nasdaq
exchange, which owns the stock market. However, he added that the timing
would be looked at.
"That is the company's decision. However, it is our responsibility to
follow up how the company handles its provision of information," Strid
told Reuters.
"On the basis of that we will now be asking the company questions about
what deliberations they had ... We have a continuing dialogue with the
company and the company is aware that it will need to provide
information about this."
(Additional reporting by Mia Shanley; Editing by Niklas Pollard and
Keith Weir)
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