MG RE fined $650,000
The Federal Court has ordered MG entity responsible (RE) to pay a penalty of $650,000 for contravening its continuous disclosure obligations, and to pay the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) legal costs.
According to the court, MGRE had failed to notify the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) of new circumstances under which Murray Goulburn Co-operative was unlikely to achieve its forecast, as stated by MG and MGRE in their ASX announcement dated 29 February, 2016.
Following this, ASIC issued proceedings against MGRE in November, 2017 and as a result MGRE admitted the contravention in a Statement of Agreed Facts and Admissions and the parties had filed joint submissions for a declaration and a civil penalty to be imposed.
The regulator also said that it would also issue to MGRE an order to recover a contribution towards ASIC’s investigation expenses of $50,000 under s91 of the ASIC Act.
ASIC’s commissioner, Cathie Armour commented: “If an entity has previously given a profit forecast to the market and that subsequently changes causing its profit forecast to differ from that guidance by a material amount, it is crucial to inform the market immediately in order that investors are apprised with up-to-date information.”
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