Nike Inc. co-founder and Chairman Phil Knight has sold more than $185 million of Nike stock in the last week, according to documents handed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday.
Knight sold 2.85 million shares for prices ranging between $64.13 and $66.34 starting Oct. 14.
The selling spree started after Knight acquired 5 million shares of the company’s Class B stock in exchange for 5 million shares of the company’s Class A stock, suggesting he may sell another 2.15 million shares.
Knight remains the company’s largest shareholder by a wide margin. Knight held 96.4 percent, or 91.9 million shares, of Nike’s Class A stock as of the company’s last proxy statement. He now holds 86.9 million shares of Class A stock.
Class A stock chooses nine of the company’s 12 directors.
Oregonians pay a 9 percent tax on capital gains, meaning the state will collect $16.7 million from Knight’s recent stock sales.
Nike (NYSE: NKE) shares have traded between $38.24 and $66.35 in the past 52 weeks.
The company declined to comment about the sales.
Nike is trying to contol the situation. And to a large company, it is the matter always happen. Someone may worry about the company. But Nike will only has a cough. It can not be the fever nor even pneumonia.
