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KLA-Tencor Director Resigns

Alexei Oreskovic

KLA-Tencor(KLAC - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) announced the immediate resignation of a director in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday.

The chip-equipment maker said Jon Tompkins, a former chairman of KLA's board of directors, resigned his seat on the board on Dec. 21, effective immediately. The company did not provide any other details on the sudden resignation.

News of Tompkins' departure comes after the company's moves earlier this year to distance itself from executives implicated in a controversy surrounding incorrectly measured stock option grants.

KLA is among more than 100 companies that have come under scrutiny for the practice of backdating stock options.

In October, KLA said its general counsel resigned in connection with the affair, and the company severed all employment ties with former CEO Kenneth Schroeder.

The San Jose, Calif., company said at the time that it expects to restate past financial statements to record as much as $400 million in noncash stock option compensation expenses.

Tompkins served as chairman of KLA's board between 1998 and 1999, which falls within the six-year time frame in which KLA said it has discovered incorrect stock grants. He also served as CEO between May 1997 and July 1998, also part of the period under investigation.

Shares of KLA closed the regular session up 20 cents at $50.21.