Henley Faces Informal Inquiry by SEC of Restructuring Charges

The Securities and Exchange Commission has begun an informal inquiry into $286 million in restructuring charges taken by Henley Group Inc. during the company’s fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, Henley said in its 10-K report to the SEC. Also under scrutiny are certain unspecified public disclosures made by Henley, a company spokesman said.

Much of the fourth quarter write-offs under investigation were connected with Henley’s Fisher Scientific Group subsidiary, which is being spun off to the public as an independent company. Henley shareholders recently received a 20% interest in Fisher as a stock dividend. Public trading of Fisher shares began Thursday on a when-issued basis.

Henley recently posted a $354-million net loss for its fourth quarter after taking restructuring charges of $286 million against earnings. The loss came on revenues of $825 million. For the full year, Henley reported a $426-million loss on $3.2 billion in revenues.

Henley said publicly in October that it might take fourth-quarter pre-tax charges of up to $300 million against earnings, including $100 million to $200 million related directly to Fisher.

“Henley is satisfied that it has fully met its responsibilities under the securities laws with respect to matters raised by the (SEC) inquiry,” said a statement from Henley.