Tellurian says chairman Souki sold shares to cover loan (NYSE:TELL)

Tellurian (NYSE:TELL) Executive Chairman Charif Souki transferred and sold ~$25.3M in company stock he owned over the last month to cover a loan, Reuters reported Thursday.

Souki had pledged 25M shares – more than half of his holdings in the company – as collateral for a 2017 loan for real estate investments, according to the report, which cited SEC filings in February and March.

The transfers occurred in the days just before Tellurian’s (TELL) agreement to sell $12B of liquefied natural gas to commodity trader Gunvor was set to expire on February 28.

Tellurian (TELL) and Gunvor already have extended the agreement twice – from the end of December to the end of January. and then from the end of January to the end of February – but neither company has commented on the status of the contract.

Tellurian’s (TELL) proposed $13.5B Driftwood LNG is in the early stages of construction, but the company has not made a final investment decision to start major work or lined up financing for the project.