Blue Coat said it is being informally probed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and that it has received a delisting notice from the Nasdaq stock exchange.
VeriSign, a security and infrastructure services provider, said that two of its directors, both of whom sat on its compensation committee, have resigned in relation to an ongoing internal options investigation.
Blue Coat’s delisting notice came because it missed its 10-K filing deadline for its last fiscal year, which ended in April. The company, which makes web security appliances, said it intends to request a hearing with Nasdaq to make its case for keeping its listing.
The deadline was missed because the company is looking at how it granted stock options to senior management. The SEC is also now looking at these practices.
VeriSign, is also having its stock options accounting questioned, both internally and by the SEC. Gregory Reyes and Len Lauer have now both stepped down from its board of directors as a result, the company said.
Reyes is the former CEO of Brocade Communications Systems Inc, the storage vendor that was among the first to fall foul of its options granting practices. He has been charged with fraud, and is subject to civil suits from the SEC and Brocade itself. A court has set his bail at $2m.
Lauer is the COO of Sprint Nextel Corp. His resignation was less expected, causing some concern among market watchers.
