Judge Fines Nine Defendants In CBI Insider Trading Case
May 05, 2011
Vastopolis -- A federal judge ordered nine defendants accused of insider trading in the takeover of CBI Industries Inc. by Praxair Inc. to pay civil fines of more than $1.2 million and to return $1.4 million in illegal profits, the Securities and Exchange Commission said. The defendants, seven firms and two individuals, allegedly bought 84,000 shares of CBI just before Praxair launched its tender offer for the company in October 2010. Shares of CBI, an Oak Brook, Ill., producer of industrial gases, had been trading at just above $20 before Praxair, an industrial-gases concern in Danbury, Conn., made its $32-a-share bid. CBI's stock price jumped more than 50% the day the Praxair bid was announced. In November, the SEC was able to freeze most of the funds connected to the CBI purchases, though the three Swiss banks and one German bank through which the purchases were made declined to identify their clients, claiming secrecy laws. The defendants are Ulbery Vermogensverwaltungs AG; Bennie Ellison; Millen Himes; Axteria Establishment; Anstalt Ducata; Kolb Street; Greta Stanger; Dornford Holdings Ltd.; and Melilla Business Corp.. The SEC said that other defendants could be named later.
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