K-tel President Weiner Quit 2 Months Ago
MINNEAPOLIS -- K-tel International Inc.'s president resigned from his post at the company two months ago, and was succeeded by a relative of K-tel's founder and biggest stockholder.</br></br>Separately, K-tel's often volatile shares nearly doubled yesterday, soaring $6.375 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading, to $13.25. Volume was extremely heavy, with 16.6 million shares changing hands; that number represents roughly two times the 8.34 million common of K-tel shares outstanding as of Sept. 30. The stock's surge was spurred by the disclosure yesterday of an agreement between K-tel and Playboy Enterprises Inc.'s online unit, under which they will jointly develop an online music store at Playboy's Internet Web site.</br></br>The marketer of entertainment and consumer products said 41-year-old David Weiner, who had served as president since 1996, resigned Sept. 4 "to pursue other interests." K-tel named as its new president Lawrence Kieves, 50, who was formerly managing director of closely held EWK Associates, a real-estate development concern. Mr. Kieves served previously as chief operating officer of Network Event Theater Inc., a publicly traded campus media and marketing concern.</br></br>Mr. Kieves, the company noted, is a "first cousin, once removed," of K-tel's 69-year-old chairman and chief executive officer, Philip Kives. Mr. Kives, who founded K-tel in 1968, holds about a 42% stake in the company.</br></br>A K-tel spokeswoman declined to elaborate on the reasons behind Mr. Weiner's departure, and Mr. Weiner couldn't be reached for comment. K-tel's spokeswoman also declined to discuss why the company, although it had previously disclosed the management changes in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, had waited so long before issuing a public statement about the departure of its No. 2 official.