It was only last week that we covered some serious selling of Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) shares by senior management. As we went through at the time, Whitehaven CEO Paul Flynn offloaded 900,000 shares on 22 November.
Flynn netted around $7.88 million from this sale. The reason for such a large dump was reportedly "for personal reasons, including to satisfy personal tax obligations arising from the issue of shares under the Company's Equity Incentive Plan".
Saying that, we also looked at how Flynn still retains more than a million shares, as well as some performance rights.
But today, it seems that another Whitehaven director has taken lead from the CEO. Not just any director either, but the company's own chair. Mark Vaile has been chair of Whitehaven since 2012.
If his name sounds familiar, it might be because Vaile is also a former deputy prime minister, occupying the role between 2005 and 2007 as Leader of the National Party.
Whitehaven chair unloads $1.77 million in shares
According to the ASX filing this morning, Vaile sold 200,000 Whitehaven shares between 22 and 23 November. The sale wasn't direct but through Vaile's company Wendmar Pty Ltd, serving as the trustee for the Vaile Super Fund and the Mark Vaile Family Trust.
Unlike with the CEO, no specific reason was given for the trade.
This sale netted Vaile (or Vaile's super fund and trust) approximately $1.77 million. That implies a sale price per share of $8.85.
However, like CEO Flynn, Vaile still owns a substantial stake in Whitehaven shares. This sale brings his indirect holdings in Whitehaven down from 1,509,317 shares to 1,309,317. Clearly, Vaile hasn't let the fact that Whitehaven shares are up 244% year to date in 2022 go unutilised.
At the time of writing, Whitehaven shares are going for $9.46 each, up 4.24% for the day. Perhaps Vaile should have waited another week to make his sale.
