Royal Group founder De Zen to repay $9.8 million to company (May 01, 2005)

As part of a multi-faceted agreement announced Mar. 24, Vic De Zen, founder of Royal Group Technologies, will pay to the company the full amount earned by all parties involved in a controversial related-party land transaction; will repay executive bonuses he received in fiscal 2002; and will convert his multiple voting shares to common shares.

The repayment regarding the land transaction will be $8.7 million, and the bonus $1.13 million.

This neatly wraps up a number of governance issues which have plagued Royal Group, a vertically integrated molder and extruder of products for consumer and construction markets. However, investigations of Royal Group and some of its ex-employees (including De Zen) by the RCMP, the OSC and the SEC are ongoing.

In a personal statement released to the media, De Zen says he has always acted “honorably” and suggests he was badly advised regarding corporate governance issues.

“I have stated and reconfirm today that throughout my career I have always acted honorably and have prided myself on conducting my business affairs openly and honestly.”

“As an entrepreneur, I relied on professional advice throughout my business career. I now understand that many of the concerns raised by the Special Committee [an in-house investigation] may have been avoided had I received different advice on disclosure and corporate governance matters at the time.”

“Having spent a lifetime building Royal Group, I felt it was important to put all of these matters behind us.”

De Zen also announced he will resign from the company’s board of directors. He resigned as CEO in December 2003.