The Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) share price is under pressure on Friday and on course to end the week deep in the red.
In morning trade, the network as a service provider's shares are down over 7% to $13.07.
This means the Megaport share price is now down 31% since the start of the year.
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Why is the Megaport share price tumbling on Friday?
The weakness in the Megaport share price today has been driven by news that the company's founder and chairman, Bevan Slattery, has been selling down his holding.
According to a change of director's interest notice, Mr Slattery has offloaded 3 million Megaport shares through an underwritten block-trade this morning.
The release reveals that the founder sold the shares for $13.05 per share, which represents a discount of 7.7% to the Megaport share price at the close of play on Thursday. All up, Mr Slattery received a total of $39.15 million for the shares.
Despite this sale, the Chairman still retains a significant interest in Megaport. He's left with approximately 8.1 million shares and 67,000 options. The former is the equivalent of 5.11% of the company's issued capital.
Why is the Chairman selling?
The release explains that Bevan Slattery intends to use the proceeds from the sale of Megaport shares to facilitate ongoing investment opportunities.
Mr Slattery also remains positive on the company's future and revealed that he doesn't intend to sell any more shares in the near future.
He commented: "I am excited for Megaport's continued growth and am committed to supporting the Company. I have no intention of selling shares within the next 6 months and am committed to ensuring the Company's success as it continues to scale up and scale out."
