Firm co-founder resigning from board, CEO post

Johnny Thomas, who helped build the forage and turf seed company by consolidating the industry, will resign effective Friday. The company said he agreed to not compete with AgriBioTech and will be available to the company as needed.

The resignation resulted in a reorganization of the company's senior management. Richard Budd will become chairman and chief executive officer while Kent Schulze will continue as president and chief operating officer.

Budd said his focus will be on capital formation, investor relations and the recruitment of four new outside board members. He has been a director since January 1998 when his company, Lofts Seed, was acquired by ABT.

Two other co-founders, John Francis and Scott Loomis, resigned from the board of directors on Feb. 1, but stayed on as employees of the company.

The reorganization came as AgriBioTech's stock price closed down 50 cents at $5.31 Tuesday. The decline in the stock price from a 52-week high of $29.50 has resulted in numerous shareholder lawsuits alleging AgriBioTech manipulated its financial reports -- charges denied by the company.

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