RPT-UPDATE 2-Regulator orders drugmaker Valeant management to cease trading

(Repeats to additional subscribers)
By Rod Nickel
March 31 (Reuters) - Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:VRX) International
Inc's VRX.TO directors and key officers have received a
cease-trade order by the securities regulator in the Canadian
province of Quebec, on the company's request, Valeant said on
Thursday.
In a separate statement, the Autorité Des Marches Financiers
(AMF) said the order against trading shares takes effect
Thursday and is in place for 15 days. Included in the order are
Chief Executive Mike Pearson (LON:PSON), Chief Financial Officer Robert
Rosiello and board member Bill Ackman.
The order states that AMF intends to issue a new order if
Valeant does not make filings by April 15.
The delay in Valeant filing its annual report poses a risk
of debt default, Valeant said March 15, generating new scrutiny
of the much-criticized company. Defaulting on debt
could prompt lenders to demand faster repayment and place
restrictions on Valeant's ability to borrow.
The company is largely run out of the United States, but it
is headquartered in Laval, a suburb of Montreal, Quebec. The
company is also incorporated in the western Canadian province of
British Columbia.
A spokesman for the British Columbia Securities Commission
did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement, Valeant said it asked AMF for the
cease-trade order, pending the filing of its 2015 audited
financial statements.
"The company is working diligently and intends to make the
required filings on or before April 29, 2016," Valeant said.
The cease-trade order technically applies only to Quebec,
but the practical effect of such orders in Canada, which does
not have a national securities regulator, is to stop trading
across the country, said Sylvain Theberge, spokesman for AMF, in
an email to Reuters.
The persons affected have undertaken not to trade anywhere,
including the United States, he said.
Theberge said Valeant is not under active investigation by
AMF, but has been under "verification," since October. He
declined to elaborate.
Valeant shares rose 0.2 percent in Toronto and New York
after earlier losses. The company's stock has plummeted since
August over a string of controversies, including U.S. government
scrutiny of its drug price hikes and former ties to a specialty
pharmacy.
The cease-trade order was first reported by the Wall Street
Journal.