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K.Y. Ho, the founder and chairman of ATI Technologies, announced his retirement from the company's board on Tuesday, just over a month after insider trading charges against him were dismissed.
Ho founded ATI Technologies (TSX:ATY), a Markham, Ont., firm that develops computer-graphics technology, in 1985. He served as chief executive of the company until June 1, 2004.
K.Y. Ho (CP file photo)
* FROM Oct. 14, 2005: OSC dismisses insider trading charges against ATI's chairman
On Oct. 14, a panel of OSC commissioners ruled that enforcement staff at the securities regulator failed to prove that Ho and his wife, Betty, knew the company would fail to meet revenue and earnings forecasts before they divested thousands of shares.
OSC staff testified that in April 2000 Ho gave a total of 254,000 shares to the Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care, Havergal private school for girls and the Princess Margaret cancer centre.
The shares of the computer graphics chipmaker were worth more than $7 million when the gifts were made and resulted in large tax savings, the OSC said.
However, the shares lost half their value in two days after the company announced that it would miss analysts' expectations and post a loss for the quarter spanning March to May 2000.
The OSC's enforcement branch alleged Ho was aware of that information and managed to maximize his tax benefit by donating the shares in advance of the profit warning, thus avoiding a $3.6-million decline in the value of his gifts.
"ATI has been more than a major part of my career, it has been a part my life that I will always treasure," Ho said in a statement.
"With the OSC matter now resolved completely in my favour, I have decided to spend more time with family and pursue my personal interests. I leave ATI with confidence that under the continued leadership of our CEO David Orton, ATI will successfully continue its track record as the leading graphics company in the world," he said.
Orton has been nominated for election to ATI's board of directors, while the current lead director has been elected as the company's new non-executive chairman.
Ho founded ATI Technologies (TSX:ATY), a Markham, Ont., firm that develops computer-graphics technology, in 1985. He served as chief executive of the company until June 1, 2004.
K.Y. Ho (CP file photo)
* FROM Oct. 14, 2005: OSC dismisses insider trading charges against ATI's chairman
On Oct. 14, a panel of OSC commissioners ruled that enforcement staff at the securities regulator failed to prove that Ho and his wife, Betty, knew the company would fail to meet revenue and earnings forecasts before they divested thousands of shares.
OSC staff testified that in April 2000 Ho gave a total of 254,000 shares to the Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care, Havergal private school for girls and the Princess Margaret cancer centre.
The shares of the computer graphics chipmaker were worth more than $7 million when the gifts were made and resulted in large tax savings, the OSC said.
However, the shares lost half their value in two days after the company announced that it would miss analysts' expectations and post a loss for the quarter spanning March to May 2000.
The OSC's enforcement branch alleged Ho was aware of that information and managed to maximize his tax benefit by donating the shares in advance of the profit warning, thus avoiding a $3.6-million decline in the value of his gifts.
"ATI has been more than a major part of my career, it has been a part my life that I will always treasure," Ho said in a statement.
"With the OSC matter now resolved completely in my favour, I have decided to spend more time with family and pursue my personal interests. I leave ATI with confidence that under the continued leadership of our CEO David Orton, ATI will successfully continue its track record as the leading graphics company in the world," he said.
Orton has been nominated for election to ATI's board of directors, while the current lead director has been elected as the company's new non-executive chairman.
a) What sort of effect do you think this will have on the "industry"?
b) Is he really involved in as many slippery business deals as they say?
Stop being so goddamn immature.
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