Schaeffer defends share sales

Friday, March 5, 2004 | 12:05 p.m.

Mandalay Resort Group President and Chief Operating Officer Glenn Schaeffer this morning answered questions about the massive share sales by the company's top two officers, saying the sales were clearly motivated by personal reasons.

Chairman Mike Ensign and Vice Chairman Bill Richardson have sold all or almost all of their Mandalay shares since mid-2002.

"I wouldn't look for deep meaning in the share sales," Schaeffer said, noting that the lion's share of the sales were made at prices substantially lower than the current trading price. "They've sold into an up market."

He said the sales weren't made as a preliminary step to allow Ensign and Richardson to leave the company, and that no changes in Mandalay Resort's executive suites are in the offing.

"It's the same old operating strategy, and the same people (executing it)," he said.

A top Wall Street analyst agreed.

"I'm pretty familiar with this situation," Deutsche Banc casino equity analyst Marc Falcone said this morning. "They wanted to diversify their holdings. Wall Street had some concern about the sales, but Mandalay's results and its bullish outlook have alleviated those concerns."