SEC to nose round AOL TW – report

No suggestion of wrongdoing

AOL Time Warner could face further investigation by the Securities Exchange Commission, according to a report today in the FT.

The newspaper claims that share sales by 15 senior execs, including chairman Steve Case and chief exec Dick Parsons, between February and June last year, has attracted the interests of the SEC.

Even though the share dealings reportedly made profits of almost $500m, there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing.

However, after AOL coughed up last week that it had overstated ad revenues by $49m, it seems the SEC is keen to make sure that there's nothing else about which it need be concerned.

Earlier this week lawyers in the US launched a class action lawsuit against AOL TW over allegations that the giant media company misrepresented advertising revenues to the tune of $270m (£177m) through what it describes as a "series of unconventional transactions".

In a statement those behind the class action also alleged that "certain company insiders sold tens of thousands of shares of AOL stock at huge profits while in possession of material adverse non-public information concerning AOL's revenues". ®

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