Chemist Warehouse co-founder Jack Gance has just sold $480.8 million worth of Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG) shares.
The mammoth transaction was revealed in a 'Change of Director's Interest Notice' that Sigma lodged with the ASX this week.
According to The Australian, Gance hired Macquarie Capital to orchestrate the off-market sale.
Gance sold 155.1 million Sigma Healthcare shares for $3.10 per share.
Why did Gance sell 155 million Sigma Healthcare shares?
The motivation for Gance's trade is unknown.
However, it occurred within 24 hours of 157.9 million shares belonging to Gance being released from voluntary escrow.
The trade occurred last Thursday, 24 hours after about 558.1 million Sigma Healthcare shares were released from voluntary escrow.
Those shares belong to Gance and his fellow Chemist Warehouse co-founders, Sam Gance and the CEO, Mario Verrocchi.
Sigma and Chemist Warehouse announced their merger in December 2023, and the deal was completed on 12 February this year.
The trio entered a voluntary escrow arrangement at the time of the merger's completion.
In a statement on the day the merger was completed, Sigma Healthcare said the trio had entered a voluntary escrow arrangement because they "are committed to the long-term value creation opportunities available to Sigma following implementation of the Scheme".
In total, 5.6 billion Sigma Healthcare shares were put into voluntary escrow for the trio.
There were two periods of escrow.
The First Period was defined as between the merger completion and the earlier of 31 August or the close of trading on the day Sigma Healthcare released its FY25 results.
This First Period of escrow involved about 558.1 million Sigma Healthcare shares.
The Second Period is between the end of the First Period and the earlier of either 31 August 2026 or the close of trading on the day Sigma releases its FY26 results.
This Second Period applies to 90% of the escrowed Sigma Healthcare shares.
Sigma Healthcare released its FY25 results last Wednesday, 27 August, which signalled the end of the First Period of escrow.
The Australian reports that Jack Gance's $480.8 million sell-off occurred after the close of trading on Thursday, 28 August.
Is the $480 million sell-off cause for concern?
Despite the mega sale, Jack Gance still has plenty of skin in the game at Sigma Healthcare.
Following the transaction, Gance still holds more than 1.42 million Sigma Healthcare shares, equating to a 12.34% stake.
The Sigma share price is $3.08, down 0.3% on Thursday, while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 0.7%.
Sigma Healthcare is the ASX 200's second-largest healthcare stock with a market capitalisation of $35.67 billion.
