Shares in Mexico's Homex fall after SEC announces probe

Mexican homebuilder Homex's shares fell on Friday after news of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Wells notice sent to the company and its top executives.

The SEC issues a "Wells notice" to firms when it is planning to bring an enforcement action against them.

Shares in Homex closed down more than 7.49 percent at 3.09 pesos.

Saddled with mounting debts and struggling with a shift in government policy that gave priority to subsidies for apartment purchases, Homex filed for bankruptcy in 2014. Its stock only started trading again in late October.

Since then, the shares have fallen by nearly 90 percent.

Homex said on Thursday it was the target of an SEC probe into fraudulent real estate sales and that it would respond to the SEC "to clarify the alleged violations," while also conducting its own review.

In a filing to the SEC, Homex said the SEC also sent Wells notices to Chief Executive Officer Gerardo de Nicolas and Chief Financial Officer Carlos Moctezuma and the two executives will be taking a voluntary leave of absence in order to respond to the investigation.

Homex did not immediately respond to an e-mail requesting comment.