Deli’s hometown of Paulsboro, NJ
CNBC
The $ 100 million company that owns just one delicacy in New Jersey was wiped out of the OTCQB market over-the-counter “because it doesn’t follow the rules” and cracked with a warning label for potential buyers Wednesday night, CEO of the company operating that market said in a tweet.
The action came six days after the delicatessen owner, Hometown International, was signaled as a warning to retail customers in a letter to the client by hedge fund manager David Einhorn.
Hometown International’s stock has grown over the past year, giving it a market capitalization of $ 100 million or more – despite sales in Paulsboro, New Jersey, deli of only about $ 35,000 combined over the past two years.
The stock, which traded up to $ 4.75 a share last year, closed on Wednesday on the OTCQB market at $ 13.07 a share, up 2.51% from the previous day.
Since Einhorn’s letter was issued, CNBC has reported that several people connected to Hometown International or related entities have faced regulatory sanctions, legal issues and prosecutions.
Cromwell Coulson, CEO of OTC Markets Group, wrote on Twitter late Wednesday: “$ HWIN was removed from the OTCQB because it did not follow the rules and marked the CE for public interest concerns.”
The acronym “CE” means “emptor warning”, the Latin expression meaning “buyer beware”. OTC Markets Group operates OTCQX Best Market, OTCQB Venture Market and Pink Market for approximately 11,000 securities in the US and abroad.
Earlier on Wednesday, by announcing the Caveat Emptor label on Hometown International, the OTC Markets Group’s Twitter account linked its explanation to the label.
Your hometown of Paulsboro, NJ
Google Earth
“The OTC Markets Group designates certain securities as ‘Caveat Emptor’ and places a skull and bone icon next to the stock symbol to inform investors that there may be grounds for further attention and due diligence before making a decision. investment in that title, ”says that policy.
The designation can be attributed, says OTC Markets Group policy, if the company becomes aware of a promotion of actions that is misleading or manipulative, an investigation into fraud or other criminal activities, undisclosed corporate actions or if there is a “public interest concern to security. “
Hometown International CEO Paul Morina is the principal and head coach of wrestling at Paulsboro High School, located next to your Hometown Deli. It holds ordinary shares and guarantees a total of 30.5 million shares.
Morina, who was not charged with any wrongdoing, did not return repeated requests for comment.
Neither the president of the Hong Kong-based company, Peter Coker Jr., nor his father, Peter Coker Sr., a key investor in Hometown International, whose Tryon Capital firm has a $ 15,000 monthly consulting contract with the deli owner .
Apart from Morina’s holdings, most of the company’s shares are held by two sets of entities in Hong Kong and Macao, China. Each set of entities has the same address in those cities.