  It has been argued that a substellar companion may significantly influence
the evolution of the progenitors of sdB stars. Recently, the bright sdB star HD
149382 has been claimed to host a substellar (possibly planetary) companion
with a period of 2.391 days. This has important implications for the evolution
of the progenitors of sdB stars as well as the source of the UV-excess seen in
elliptical galaxies. In order to verify this putative planet, we made 10 radial
velocity measurements of HD 149382 over 17 days with the High Resolution
Spectrograph at the Hobby-Eberly Telescope. Our data conclusively demonstrate
that the putative substellar companion does not exist, and they exclude the
presence of almost any substellar companion with P < 28 days and Msin i >~ 1
Mjup.
