In an unusual move, VisCorp, the Calabasas, California telecommunications company, has been given six million shares of its stock by its 71-year old former chairman at no cost. Jerome Greenberg, until now the company’s principal shareholder, has returned the shares – which represent 90% of his 22% stake – to the company’s treasury to facilitate the planning of his personal estate and tax situation. At current market value, the donation is worth about $11.25m. A spokesperson for the company could not illuminate the matter further but insisted that the company was paying nothing for the shares and that the transaction would have no negative impact on VisCorp financially. VisCorp announced earlier this month that it would be acquiring Skysite Communications Inc, a sales and marketing firm for telecoms companies, in a tax-free reorganization involving the transfer of 750,000 shares of VisCorp stock to Skysite shareholders (CI No 3,199).
