Wawa Joins Wegmans in Fighting Disclosure

WAWA, Pa. — Convenience-store chain Wawa, based here, has joined Wegmans Foods Markets of Rochester, N.Y., and other companies to lobby for changes in Securities and Exchange Commission rules that would allow them to keep their financial information private.

The SEC requires that private companies with more than 500 shareholders file financial statements, even if their stock is not publicly traded. But Wawa, Wegmans and other companies — including several tech firms — are seeking to have that threshold raised, according to a report in the Huffington Post on Friday.

"As we grow, we don't have the ability to retain and attract the number of people we'd like because of the restriction of this rule," Paul Speranza, vice chairman and general counsel of Wegmans, told the Huffington Post. The online news website also cited him as saying Wegmans is close to the 500-shareholder limit.

Wawa officials were not immediately available for comment.

Bills in the House and Senate in 2011 have proposed raising the threshold to 1,000 and 2,000 shareholders, respectively.