Pinetree Capital Hires General Counsel – Good News or Bad?

In a press release issued today, Pinetree Capital announced the following:

TORONTO, Ontario (February 5, 2007) – Pinetree Capital Ltd. (TSX: PNP), a Canadian investment company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Wendy D. Warhaft as General Counsel. In this newly-created position, Ms. Warhaft will, among other things, advise and assist management in respect of Pinetree’s corporate finance and M&A activity, as well as oversee continuous disclosure and corporate governance matters.

The italics are mine.

I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but given the problems the chairman has had with OSC investigations and insider trading, having a high-powered lawyer on staff is probably a good idea. A Google search of Ms. Warhaft reveals that she was corporate and securities law lawyer, advising early stage companies, but also that “Wendy’s legal experience includes secondments to the Ontario Securities Commission (General Counsel’s Office)”. You can read her bio on Goodman’s web site. I’m guessing if you are being investigated by the OSC, having someong with OSC experience is a good idea.

Of course tthis could all be very innocent (to help with M&A activity). As I write this on Monday morning Pinetree is flat for the day, so obviously the market is not concerned, so this is probably good news, not bad. Time will tell.