Pall stock rises after disclosure

Share prices for Pall Corp. rose Tuesday morning to an all-time high of $55.68 amid talk of a possible sale of the filtration maker, after the chief executive, Eric Krasnoff, said he'll resign due to a "personal relationship" with another Pall executive.

An attorney for Krasnoff's wife, Robin, made a public statement on the events.

"My client filed for divorce at the beginning of November because of her husband's infidelity in pursuing a 'personal relationship' with Pall Corp.'s general counsel and ethics officer, Sandra Marino, while he was living at home with his wife and young children," Robin Krasnoff's lawyer, Harriet Newman Cohen, said in a prepared statement.

According to Manhattan Supreme Court records, Robin Krasnoff on Nov. 10 filed a contested matrimonial notice, naming her husband, Eric. The couple, who are separated, have two daughters.

"While divorce is painful, having this private family matter aired so publicly and cavalierly by Mr. Krasnoff and Mrs. Marino, two executives of the company, makes it even more devastating, and my client is committed to doing what is necessary to protect the welfare and privacy of the children, who are her primary concern."

Eric Krasnoff, 58, has said he will retire next year after disclosing to the company board and the Securities and Exchange Commission that he and the company's former general counsel, Marino, 41, are pursuing a personal relationship.

The development could make Pall ripe as a takeover target, according to a Credit Suisse analyst.

"We believe Eric Krasnoff's retirement is a catalyst for the company to merge or become acquired," Hamzah Mazari wrote in a note to clients, a Reuters report said. "The majority of Pall's closest competitors have been acquired by larger companies."

Pall said in a Friday news release that Krasnoff,  who is also board chairman, will resign in March 2012, on his 60th birthday.

Pall left open the possibility that Krasnoff might depart earlier if the company selects successors to his two positions. The Pall board plans to launch a search to fill the jobs.

The board accepted the resignation of Marino and brought in outside counsel for an inquiry after learning of the relationship.

Krasnoff and Marino did immediately respond Tuesday to a call requesting comment.

Krasnoff is the son of Abraham Krasnoff, the former company chief executive, who helped build the company after joining as an accountant in 1951. Abraham Krasnoff, who retired in the early 1990s, died in 2007.

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