Don Meji is a pizzapreneur. Head of Dominos Pizza Enterprises, he oversees an empire of 3,700 slightly-cramped, brightly lit stores from Australia to Germany. Don Meji is also a little hard up.
Who isn’t? Interest rates are rising and banks are sending polite letters to people who owe them money, asking them to pay a little more money on the money they owe. At least some of the people eyeing Dominos “Value Max Range” for a Pepperoni pizza ($6.99) are economising. So is Don! From an announcement to the Australian Stock Exchange on Thursday:
Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Limited (the Company) advises that the Managing Director, Mr Don Meji, has sold 150,000 shares. The funds from these transactions will be used to take a prudent approach to reduce Mr Meji’s personal borrowings in a period of rising interest rates”
Prudently reducing personal borrowings is a sensible thing in a period of rising interest rates! Even if you run a company that made $165 million last financial year. Especially if you run a company that made $165 million last financial year.
Don sold his shares on February 23 for A$8,302,000 or, as a pizzapreneur surely prefers, 1,187,696 pepperoni pizzas and change.
“I appreciate there is no ideal time to sell any shares but my long-term track record shows my alignment with the future of our business and interests of shareholders and franchisees,” Mr Meji said
I dunno Don. I can imagine more and less ideal times to sell shares. For example, shares in Dominos lost a quarter of their value on the 22nd, the day before his sale (people are buying fewer pizzas!). Seems a less than ideal time to sell shares.
But don’t cry for Don, he still owns about twelve million pepperoni pizzas worth.
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