Larry Ellison cancels plan to sell up to $7.5bn of Oracle stock
Oracle says no shares were sold under Ellison’s plan for as many as 50 million shares, which had been due to run through Oct. 24.
By Marcus V. Thorne · Markets Editor
· 2 min read
Larry Ellison has canceled a plan to sell up to 50 million Oracle shares, a potential transaction valued at about $7.5bn at the cited share price. Oracle said no stock was sold under the arrangement, and that Ellison has no other plans to sell his shares.
The decision reverses a planned Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement disclosed in Oracle’s regulatory filing a day earlier, CNBC reported. The plan was adopted on June 22 and had been scheduled to remain in force until Oct. 24.
The $7.5bn figure represented the estimated value of the maximum 50 million shares covered by the plan, rather than proceeds from a completed disposal. The Financial Times had calculated that value using Oracle’s Friday closing price of $150.
Did Larry Ellison sell any Oracle shares before canceling the plan?
No. Oracle said in a Saturday news release that no Oracle shares had been sold under the plan before its cancellation, according to CNBC. The company did not give a reason for the decision, and few further details were disclosed.
A Rule 10b5-1 arrangement can provide an affirmative defence to insider-trading liability when its conditions are satisfied, the Securities and Exchange Commission says. Those conditions include adopting a written plan when the trader is not aware of material nonpublic information, alongside applicable cooling-off and good-faith requirements. Establishing such a plan does not establish that the covered trades will occur.
Ellison founded Oracle in 1977 and retains a substantial holding. CNBC has previously reported that he controls more than 40% of the company, while the Financial Times described him as Oracle’s largest individual shareholder with a 40% stake, citing the company’s latest proxy filing.
The canceled arrangement was disclosed as Oracle pursues an expansion in artificial-intelligence infrastructure and data centres. CNBC reported that the company has accumulated a substantial debt load in connection with that shift and that its shares had fallen roughly 23% during the year. Neither Oracle nor Ellison linked those developments to the cancellation.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.
