SEC: Insider Trading Ahead of Heinz Deal - East Idaho News
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SEC: Insider Trading Ahead of Heinz Deal

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GETTY B 102711 HeinzKetchupJPG?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1360974376008Edouard H.R. Gluck/Bloomberg via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Something smells funny about the $23 billion takeover of Heinz and it isn’t the ketchup.

As Berkshire Hathaway and the investment firm 3G agreed to take over Heinz, securities regulators noticed what looked like insider trading by an account based in Zurich. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission obtained an emergency order from a court in New York to freeze the account unknown traders used to place risky bets the day before the Heinz deal was announced.

Regulators became suspicious because the account had no history of trading Heinz securities in the last six months and suddenly it was nearly $2 million richer.

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