Shares of
M-Systems
(FLSH)
plunged more than 13% after the flash-memory chipmaker joined the growing ranks of companies reviewing their past stock-option practices.
In a short filing with the
Securities and Exchange Commission
Thursday, M-Systems said it was pulling the plug on a planned public offering of 8.7 million ordinary shares due to a newly launched internal review of its past stock-option grants.
M-Systems said it had launched an internal review on its own initiative.
Several tech companies, including
Altera
(ALTR) - Get Report
,
KLA-Tencor
(KLAC) - Get Report
and
Analog Devices
(ADI) - Get Report
are the subjects of federal inquiries into a controversy involving the backdating of executive stock options.
Shares of Israel-based M-Systems were down $4.64 at $28.81 in Thursday trading.
