Sinovac shareholder settles compliance probe with SEC

Dec 23 (Reuters) - Chinese vaccine maker Sinovac Biotech Ltd’s shareholder 1Globe Capital LLC said on Wednesday it had settled with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission an investigation into its regulatory disclosure compliance.

1Globe Capital, which holds about 9.5% stake in Sinovac according to Refinitiv data, was being probed for its compliance with a 13D form-filing, which applies to a person or group that acquires more than 5% of a company’s shares.

The SEC two years ago found that 1Globe Capital had not disclosed shares held by its related parties.

The probe also found that the 13D form was not amended on time to include its participation in voting for an alternative slate of directors in the company, which had at that time opposed a buyout offer.

Sinovac, whose COVID-19 vaccine candidate was shown to be effective in late-stage trials in Brazil, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

1Globe Capital said on Wednesday it accepted SEC’s settlement offer, in which the shareholder neither admitted nor denied SEC findings. (Reporting by Dania Nadeem in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)