Bubble Wrap Maker Fires CFO After Review Prompted by SEC Probe

(Bloomberg) -- Sealed Air Corp. said it terminated Chief Financial Officer William Stiehl for cause after an internal review. Shares tumbled.

• The packaging company said it began the inquiry after receiving a subpoena May 2 for information related to its selection of an independent audit firm. The review is related to a previously disclosed Securities and Exchange Commission investigation.

Key Insights

• The termination signals potentially deeper regulatory trouble for Sealed Air, which said in August that the SEC was seeking information about income-tax accounting and financial reporting.
• Last month’s subpoena also demanded information about the independence of the audit firm that Sealed Air chose beginning with fiscal year 2015.
• Sealed Air, which makes Bubble Wrap and other packaging, reaffirmed its 2019 earnings outlook and appointed James Sullivan as CFO as of June 24. The company said it’s cooperating with the SEC probe.

Market Reaction

• The shares plunged 7.3% to $40.50 after the close of regular trading in New York. Sealed Air had risen 25% this year through Thursday, outpacing the 15% gain of a Standard & Poor’s index of materials companies.

Get More

• Company statement
• August disclosure of SEC probe

To contact the reporter on this story: Brendan Case in Dallas at bcase4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Case at bcase4@bloomberg.net, Justin Bachman

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