Atlanta, GA, September 7, 2006--Home Depot said Wednesday that federal prosecutors have asked for information from the nation's largest home improvement store chain in connection with a stock option probe.
The company had disclosed in June that the Securities and Exchange Commission had begun an informal inquiry into Home Depot's disclosure that it had found $10 million in unrecorded stock option expense.
The company has said the amount is not material and it does not plan to restate the past year's financial results.
In a filing with the SEC on Wednesday, Home Depot added that the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York has also requested information on this subject.
A company review found that in five instances prior to December 2000, the date of a meeting or resolution approving a stock option grant was later than that used to determine the stock option exercise price.
In three of those five instances, the market price of the company's stock on the award date was higher than that on the date the exercise price was determined.
In accordance with the company's procedures, all stock options granted since December 2000 had an exercise price based on the market price of the company's stock on a specified grant date after approval, Home Depot has said.
Home Depot has said it will fully cooperate with the SEC staff, and doesn't expect the inquiry will have a material adverse effect on the company.
