Ex-Stiefel employees say they lost in deal

Lawsuits filed by employees as well as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over the past several years — including one filed last week in Albany — allege that Stiefel purchased company shares from employees on the cheap, knowing the stock had been valued much higher by potential suitors.

Glaxo at first wanted to close the facility, but state and county officials stepped in with a multimillion-dollar incentive package to save roughly 200 jobs to turn the facility into a toothpaste factory.

According to the latest lawsuit, filed on Jan. 31 in U.S. District Court in Albany, Stiefel used a small accounting firm based in Rhinebeck called Bogush & Grady to value the company.

The lawsuit alleges that by reducing the workforce and buying back shares held by employees, Stiefel and its family members were increasing their holdings in the company and their potential windfall from a sale.

In the time running up to the 2009 sale to Glaxo, Stiefel bought hundreds of employee shares and also increased the amount of money it was willing to spend to buy back shares from $10 million to $14 million, according to the SEC's lawsuit, which was filed in December 2011 in Florida.