The Mineral Commodities Limited (ASX: MRC) share price spent today in freefall after the termination of its CEO. The notice was issued after close of trade yesterday, with today being the first time investors had the chance to react.
The Mineral Commodities share price opened 2.8% down on yesterday's close, but by midday it was down by 20% and at close of trade it hit a 25% loss.
Let's look deeper into the CEO's sacking.
"The Board's relationship with, and the provision of CEO services by, Mr Caruso became untenable"
Mineral Commodities reported last night that Mark Caruso was forced out of the role of CEO due to a "breakdown" between himself and the board.
What caused the breakdown is a mystery, with the only explanation given by the company vague.
According to the company, the CEO's sacking followed a "commencement of enquiries into a potential related party matter".
Perhaps foreseeing enquires into what the matter may be, the company continued: "Those enquiries are ongoing and the company is unable to provide further detail at this time."
Your guess is as good as mine as to what muddied the relationship between Caruso and the board. Such ambiguity likely didn't help Mineral Commodities' share price today.
Caruso had held the role of CEO at Mineral Commodities since 2012.
The company's chair, David Baker, and its non-executive director, Russell Tipper, will now take on the role of acting CEO. The board will begin its search for a replacement CEO immediately.
In its statement the company described the situation as "regrettable". Particularly given Caruso's contribution to its growth.
The company finished its announcement by reiterating the apparent necessity of the move.
"The Board has resolved that it is in the best interests of the Company, and in line with its legal and governance obligations to proceed in this way," it said.
Mineral Commodities share price snapshot
After today's drama, the Mineral Commodities share price has lost any gains it has made on the ASX in 2021. It's currently down 25% year to date. Though, it's still up 58% over the last 12 months.
At the time of writing, Mineral Commodities' share price is 27 cents, down from its previous close of 36 cents.
The company has a market capitalisation of around $164 million, with approximately 456 million shares outstanding.
