Vielleicht schneller als es MANCHE haben wollen.
Sep 12, 2011 – 3:51 PM ET | Last Updated: Sep 12, 2011 6:41 PM ET
The Ontario Securities Commission will hold a hearing Wednesday morning to consider an application from derivatives clearinghouse CDCC that seeks to vary a months-long cease trade on shares of embattled timber company Sino-Forest Corp.
The freeze on trading, extended last week through Jan. 25, 2012, has apparently frustrated investors who turned to put options to offset their leap into shares of the Toronto Stock Exchange firm which faced unsubstantiated accusations of fraud.
“One of the consequences of the Cease Trade Order has been to prevent holders of outstanding put contracts from exercising their rights under such contracts to sell Sino-Forest common shares to the writers of such put contracts,” CDCC said in a notice to members late last week.
The clearing house said it had received requests from several of its members “to address the issue of outstanding put contracts being exercised.”
A reader of FP Street posted the following comment that touched on the issue shortly after the Ontario regulator imposed the initial cease trade order in late August:
“All the reasonably educated investors out there that made a play on Sino-Forest and used Put Options to protect their downside just got it up the p***er by the OSC. There was no way to be hurt here since there were mechanisms available to all investors (i.e. Put Options) to provide for protection of the equity investment…that is…until the OSC decided to ‘help out.’”
The OSC is gathering information from investors and has informed the CDCC that if staff of the regulator determines it is appropriate to recommend that the requested variation order be granted, it may recommend that current and former Sino executives and insiders be excluded. |