Karcher Reduces Stake in VTN to 7%

Anaheim restaurateur Carl N. Karcher, through an Anaheim trust, has reduced his stake in VTN Corp., an engineering firm in Orange, from 8.8% to 7%, or 906,000 common shares. Karcher sold more than 200,000 shares between March 14 and April 16 for $1.12 to $1.37 each, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Dan Montano, VTN’s chairman and chief executive, said the Karcher shares were worth about $300,000. He also said this is the first time that the Carl N. and Margaret M. Karcher Trust--which owns Carl’s Jr. in Anaheim, the largest fast-food chain based in Southern California--sold VTN shares since it swapped a $200,000 convertible note for 1.1 million VTN shares in 1988, equivalent to about 25 cents a share.

The trust’s director, Eric Inglett, said the sale is “a business decision. We’ve converted an appreciated asset at a favorable time.”