SandRidge board finds no wrongdoing in land deals of CEO, family

NEW YORK, Jan 25 (Reuters) - SandRidge Energy Inc's board said Friday it had reviewed land deals involving entities controlled by Chief Executive Tom Ward and his family and found no sign of wrongdoing.

The company said in a statement its independent directors would consider requests from investors to hire outside investigators to look into the charges.

Hedge fund TPG-Axon, one of SandRidge's top investors, had alleged that WCT Resources, an Oklahoma company run by Ward's son Trent, had run ahead of the company to acquire land, later flipping that land to SandRidge or other oil and gas companies.

Another top shareholder, Mount Kellett Capital Management, joined TPG-Axon in urging the board to further investigate the land deals.

Ward is already under fire from the two investors, who had asked him to step down based on the company's performance before making the charges relating to the land deals.

TPG-Axon has launched an effort to have the company's board replaced.