Latest news with #CraigShepherd
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Wellington Bird Rehabilitation Trust founder Craig Shepherd keeps security licence despite assault convictions
By Jeremy Wilkinson, Open Justice reporter of Craig Shepherd Photo: Bill Hickman / RNZ A bird rehabilitation centre founder and security company owner will be allowed to keep his security licence, despite being convicted of assault charges against women. In 2023, Craig Shepherd pleaded guilty to four charges of assault in relation to three women, two of them employees of the Wellington Bird Rehabilitation Trust, as well as a third woman, who had dropped off an injured bird. In 2019, he touched one employee on the lower back and patted her on the bottom, after saying: "I've been watching you, you have been a naughty girl." Shepherd placed his hands around the waist of a second employee that same year and kissed the back of her neck, and on another occasion, patted her on the backside with a piece of cardboard and followed her, repeatedly hitting her with it. Then, in 2021, a member of the public came to the trust's premises at Shepherd's house, with an injured bird and a donation. Shepherd reached out as if he wanted a hug, before rubbing the $20 note she'd given him across her chest and then kissed her firmly on the lips. The woman gathered her belongings and ran towards the door. Shepherd was originally charged with indecent assault and pleaded not guilty, but he pleaded guilty in the Wellington District Court to the charges, after they were downgraded to male assaults female. Shepherd was denied permanent name suppression and a discharge without conviction, and ordered to pay each of his three victims $1500. He unsuccessfully appealed that ruling to both the High Court and the Court of Appeal. The bird trust that Shepherd runs in Wellington is supported financially by his business Harbour City Security, which offers services such as alarm and camera installation, and monitoring for residential homes and commercial businesses. Security businesses and the people who run them are required to hold a Certificate of Authority, which licenses them to undertake different forms of security work. After Shepherd's conviction, the police and the New Zealand Security Association (NZSA) made complaints about him, and his suitability to hold one of these certificates. Despite the Private Security Personnel Licensing Authority finding there were grounds for disqualification, Shepherd will be allowed to keep his certificate, as long as he receives no further complaints. One of his former employees and victims believes it is "appalling" that Shepherd is still allowed to run his business. "I don't think he should be allowed to run any business, let alone a security business," she told NZME . "It's really concerning that he's allowed to keep practising." At a hearing this year, Shepherd told the authority he no longer hugged visitors without obtaining permission first, despite - in the past - treating everyone as guests, which he conceded led to the complaints against him. Shepherd also said he was physically standoffish with people he didn't know and now "views most women now as a potential complainant". As part of his submissions, Craig said he'd been in business for 50 years and these were his first complaints. He provided 23 references, 16 of which were from women, in support of his character. Shepherd's primary submission was that he had learned from his mistakes and worked hard to make sure nothing similar occurred again. He told NZME that he had a "wary eye on anybody coming in here now", when asked about his submissions that he viewed women as potential complainants, but declined to comment further on this point. Shepherd said he was pleased to be given an opportunity to carry on the career he'd been in for 50 years. At the same hearing, police said Shepherd was no longer suitable to be a security provider, noting that his offending had a sexual overtone and occurred in an environment where he held the balance of power. New Zealand Security Association chief executive Gary Morrison said in submissions to the authority that the public should be able to trust security providers and that several other security professionals were concerned that Shepherd continued to operate his business, despite his convictions. He told NZME he was disappointed with the outcome, but understood how the authority had reached its decision. "It's important that the public can have trust and faith in security providers," he said. "We had a number of security providers who were aware of the issues and raised their concerns, and were concerned it was impacting public confidence." Authority member Kate Lash said that, while Shepherd continued to deny there was any sexual element to his offending, he pleaded guilty to a summary of facts to the contrary. "Convictions relating to actions by an older male against a younger female, the former of whom is in a position of disproportionate power, are extremely serious," Lash said. "That is particularly so, when the male holds other positions of authority, such as being a security provider and sole director of a reputable security company." Lash said Shepherd clearly regretted his actions and had tried to make amends for them, had changed his outlook on life and appeared to be at low risk of re-offending. Lash said she did not find it in the public interest to cancel Shepherd's security licence and approved his application to waive his disqualification. Despite this, Lash found that the defendant still lacked insight into his offending. "His assertion that the victims did not demonstrate discomfort with his behaviour suggests a limited understanding of the complex considerations a woman may face, when deciding how to respond in such circumstances," she said. "Furthermore, his belief that it is easy for a woman to lodge a complaint in such situations reflects a misunderstanding of the social and personal barriers that often make reporting difficult." Shepherd was reprimanded, and given a "final warning" in that he would likely have his certificate cancelled or suspended, if he received any more complaints of a similar nature. * This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Elanco Sells Royalty and Milestone Rights for Lotilaner in Human Health to Blackstone; Accelerates Debt Paydown
GREENFIELD, Ind., May 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE: ELAN) today announced the sale of certain future tiered royalties and commercial milestones associated with XDEMVY® (lotilaner ophthalmic solution) 0.25%, for the human health application of lotilaner, to funds affiliated with Blackstone Life Sciences and Blackstone Credit & Insurance for $295 million in cash. Monetization of this non-core asset will be used to accelerate debt reduction, positioning Elanco to achieve an expected net leverage ratio of 3.9x to 4.3x adjusted EBITDA by the end of 2025. Elanco will repay portions of its outstanding term loans on a pro-rata basis, which is expected to reduce interest expense by approximately $10 million, offset by the sale of approximately $10 million of royalties based on Elanco's initial 2025 guidance. In 2019, Elanco exclusively licensed lotilaner to Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: TARS) for exploration as a solution to several unmet human health needs. In 2023, XDEMVY became the first lotilaner-based product approved for human use and the only FDA-approved medicine for treatment of Demodex blepharitis (DB), a common eyelid disease in humans caused by Demodex mites. "Elanco's team of scientific experts is focused on identifying and developing molecules to generate high-impact innovation, not just in our own portfolio, but in adjacent industries to create broader value," said Jeff Simmons, Elanco President and CEO. "As we continue to focus on launching our recent innovation and accelerating our core business sales growth in 2025, this transaction delivers incremental cash that advances our deleveraging goals making high 3x net leverage a real possibility by the end of 2025. We appreciate Blackstone's collaborative investment to further Elanco's goals and their recognition of the positive potential impact of XDEMVY on millions of DB patients in the U.S." "Elanco's innovation served as the basis for XDEMVY's strong efficacy and safety profile, and Tarsus' executional strength has led to its rapid adoption and commercial success. We are pleased to partner with both leading pharmaceutical companies and back this first-in-class treatment that addresses a pervasive and damaging eyelid disease," said Craig Shepherd and Kiran Reddy, MD, Senior Managing Directors, Blackstone Life Sciences. The agreement applies to certain tiered royalties associated with the U.S. net sales of XDEMVY from April 2025 through August 2033 and certain commercial milestones. Elanco retains the rights to all royalty payments on net sales outside the U.S. as well as any future human applications of lotilaner beyond ophthalmic solutions. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as the sole structuring agent. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including, without limitation, statements concerning the expected financial impacts of the royalty sale on our financial results, plans for using the cash we receive in the sale, and expected financial results for 2025. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions regarding our business, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, by their nature, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. As a result, our actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include regional, national or global political, economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory conditions, including our ability to recognize the expected financial and cash generation benefits of the transaction and additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements described in the company's latest Form 10-K and Form 10-Qs filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We caution you against relying on any forward-looking statements, which should also be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included elsewhere in this press release. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release speaks only as of the date thereof. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or to revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law. ABOUT ELANCOElanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE: ELAN) is a global leader in animal health dedicated to innovating and delivering products and services to prevent and treat disease in farm animals and pets, creating value for farmers, pet owners, veterinarians, stakeholders and society as a whole. With 70 years of animal health heritage, we are committed to breaking boundaries and going beyond to help our customers improve the health of animals in their care, while also making a meaningful impact on our local and global communities. At Elanco, we are driven by our vision of Food and Companionship Enriching Life and our Elanco Healthy Purpose™ sustainability pillars – all to advance the health of animals, people, the planet and our enterprise. Learn more at About Blackstone Life SciencesBlackstone Life Sciences (BXLS) is an industry-leading private investment platform with capabilities to invest across the life cycle of companies and products within the key life science sectors. By combining scale investments and hands-on operational leadership, BXLS helps bring to market promising new medicines and medical technologies that improve patients' lives and currently has $12 billion in assets under management. About Blackstone Credit & Insurance Blackstone Credit & Insurance ("BXCI") is one of the world's leading credit investors. Our investments span the credit markets, including private investment grade, asset-based lending, public investment grade and high yield, sustainable resources, infrastructure debt, collateralized loan obligations, direct lending and opportunistic credit. We seek to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for institutional and individual investors by offering companies capital needed to strengthen and grow their businesses. BXCI is also a leading provider of investment management services for insurers, helping those companies better deliver for policyholders through our world-class capabilities in investment grade private credit. Investor Contact: Tiffany Kanaga (765) 740-0314 Contact: Colleen Dekker (317) 989-7011 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Elanco Animal Health Sign in to access your portfolio
