SEC to investigate Hampton Creek’s Mayo Buybacks

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched an inquiry to determine whether San Francisco-based food company Hampton Creek has omitted that it has been purchasing its own vegan mayonnaise from stores, making it appear to be more successful than it actually was.

The SEC is investigating into the matter to find out if Hampton Creek recognised revenue from purchases made with company funds in an inappropriate manner, according to people familiar with the matter.

Hampton Creek CEO Joshua Tetrick said in an e-mailed statement: “We’re aware of the informal inquiry and we’ll be sharing the facts, as opposed to the inaccuracies reported by Bloomberg.”

The enquiry is still at a preliminary stage and does not imply that the company will face an enforcement action. The SEC is thoroughly investivating the case because the company raised money from third-party investors.

An attendee of the meeting told Bloomberg that Hampton Creek is reported to have raised nearly $220m, and Tetrick is claimed to have informed to his employees that he is planning to raise another round of financing by early next month, which will value the company at $1.1bn.

In 2014, Hampton raised $90m from Founders Fund, Horizon’s Ventures and Khosla Ventures, as well as Salesforce.com Inc. co-founder Marc Benioff and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin.

Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that the company instructed workers to buy back its own products from supermarkets.