UBS, Blackstone Advisers Fed Insider-Trading Ring, SEC Says

[Joanne98]

It should be titled.. Bush SEC defends Carlyle Group!

Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- UBS AG and Blackstone Group LP takeover advisers fed information to an insider-trading ring including a former Jefferies Group Inc. money manager in a scheme that yielded more than $8 million in illegal gains, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said.

Nicos Stephanou, associate director of mergers and acquisitions at UBS’s London office, passed information about bids for Albertson’s Inc., ElkCorp and National Health Investors Inc., the SEC said today. Ramesh Chakrapani, a managing director of Blackstone’s takeover advisory unit, leaked tips on two of the deals, it said. The agency sued the pair and five others for involvement in the ring, while federal prosecutors in Manhattan brought related criminal charges.

“Stephanou and Chakrapani were privy to highly confidential information concerning mergers and acquisitions,” the SEC said in its complaint. “Notwithstanding their agreements and duties to maintain the confidentiality of this information, they tipped” other people to the deals.

The alleged insider-trading network is the biggest uncovered by U.S. authorities since former UBS and Morgan Stanley employees were accused in 2007 of feeding tips on stock research and acquisitions to a ring of hedge funds. Allegations unveiled today expand on criminal charges filed against Chakrapani last month for allegedly tipping a friend to the 2006 bid for Boise, Idaho-based Albertson’s.

The ring’s gains include profits on trades as well as losses avoided, the SEC said.

Stephanou, a U.K. resident, learned that a UBS advisory client was part of a group planning to bid for the grocery store chain in 2006, the SEC said. He tipped at least three people, including friend and ex-colleague Joseph Contorinis, a money manager for the Jefferies Paragon Fund, the agency said.

Albertson’s Shares

Contorinis, a Florida resident who is also named in the SEC’s suit, bought $59 million in Albertson’s shares for the hedge fund, the agency said. Defendants in the case collectively gained or avoided losing $7.7 million, it said.

Stephanou also leaked confidential information about the Carlyle Group’s plans in 2006 to buy ElkCorp, the Dallas-based maker of roofing and building products, according to the SEC’s complaint. Building Materials Corp. of America bought ElkCorp for about $1.1 billion in 2007.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=amA3_Q5Mjv0Y&refer=home

[lxlxlxl]

1. wow...ubs has a hand in every pot and they are all dirty...

no comment, but thanks for posting

[Idealism]

2. Please tell me Phil Graham was part of the insider trading