Shares of Canadian manufacturer TerraVest Industries Inc. fell the most since 2009 over allegations of insider tipping by its executive chairman.
The Journal de Montreal reported that Charles Pellerin helped family members and acquaintances make illicit gains by communicating privileged information ahead of a deal in March 2025. The news outlet cited a copy of a search warrant from Quebec’s financial regulator , the Autorité des Marchés Financiers .
The news erased around $1.3 billion in stock market value when the shares plunged 40 per cent on Friday. It pared those losses to 26 per cent as of 1:21 p.m. in Toronto.
Terravest, an Alberta -based manufacturer of fuel storage tanks , announced a deal on March 17, 2025 to buy United States transportation equipment manufacturer EnTrans International, the firm’s largest acquisition. The shares jumped 20.5 per cent that day.
The AMF said Pellerin, who’s a Quebec resident , was aware of the transaction from December 12, 2024, and that several individuals with ties to him made trades involving TerraVest’s stock, generally within minutes of communicating with him, according to the Journal.
The transactions differed from the usual trading habits of the individuals and provided a total theoretical profit of nearly $6.8 million, the news site reported.
“The company takes these allegations seriously. After consultation with its legal advisors, the board of directors (excluding Mr. Pellerin) is undertaking a process to review these allegations,” TerraVest said in a statement.
Fidelity is TerraVest’s largest institutional shareholder, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.