Harvey Norman Sale Time

It was no surprise that investors in Harvey Norman started banking profits last week as the stock hit highs unseen since the start of 2002. What was unusual was that profit takers included key members of Gerry Harvey’s executive team, led by his wife Katie Page.
Over four days '”March 21–24 '” Page sold about 670,000 shares as their price hovered around $3.95.

While sports fans were glued to their televisions watching athletes chase gold at the MCG, Page was chasing gold at the ASX, exchanging her scrip for about $2.6 million cash. About a week earlier on March 13, Harvey Norman executive director John Slack-Smith sold 100,000 shares for about $381,000.

In the half-yearly report released on December 31, 2005, Page was listed as the Harvey Norman’s ninth-largest shareholder, with 19,847,257 shares. On the face of it she retains more than 19 million shares worth about $76 million after these recent dealings.

The fifth-largest shareholder in Harvey Norman is Gerry Harvey's first wife, Lynette Harvey. She has close to 50 million shares '” a parcel worth about $200 million '” and is on BRW magazine’s list of Australia’s richest people.

Gerry's son Michael Harvey makes the list of top 20 shareholders as well, sitting at number 17 with 3,445,553 shares worth approximately $13 million.

Ian Norman, Gerry Harvey’s “silent” partner, is also on the retailer’s board and, after Harvey, is its second-biggest shareholder. His company Dimublu Pty Ltd holds 175 million shares, worth about $660 million, which also gives him entry to the BRW rich list. (Gerry Harvey owns 311 million shares, worth about $1.2 billion.)