PurchasePro exec sells shares at a loss

Wednesday, April 11, 2001 | 10:56 a.m.

PurchasePro Chief Executive Charles Johnson Jr. recently sold 1.45 million shares of his stock in the Las Vegas company at a loss in order to meet a loan agreement made in early 2000, the company said.

He sold the shares in mid-March at an average of $10 a piece. He paid an average of $16.10 a share, a company spokesman said.

In early March, Johnson said he planned to begin selling 90,000 of his 14.4 million shares in stages beginning in April if and when the stock reached $15.

But he had to sell a portion of his holdings below that level recently to meet his loan commitment, the company said.

Johnson had borrowed money against his company holdings to raise $20 million to buy company stock during 2000, and to raise another $24 million to give to charity and buy other securities, according to a Wall Street Journal story.

PurchasePro shares, which trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market, remain 73 percent below the $15 trigger point. In mid-morning trading today, its shares were up $1.36 at $4.05.

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