© Reuters. Former U.S. Congressman Stephen Baier arrives for his insider buying and selling trial on the U.S. Courthouse in Manhattan, New York, U.S., March 8, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Written by Jody Godoy
(Reuters) – Former U.S. Congressman Stephen Baier denied buying and selling on inside data he obtained as a advisor to T-Cellular US (NASDAQ: ) Inc forward of its $23 billion merger with Dash, showing in court docket on Wednesday.
Purchaser was a Republican from Indiana within the US Home of Representatives from 1993 to 2011 earlier than working as a company advisor.
He’s accused of utilizing buyer data to purchase Dash inventory earlier than the telecom firm was acquired by T-Cellular in 2018, and of buying and selling forward of one other consumer’s upcoming merger.
Testifying in federal court docket in New York, Bayer, who was additionally a lawyer and retired US Military Reserve colonel, denied buying and selling on inside details about any firm, saying he relied on public analysis.
“I acted boldly and decisively and acquired,” he mentioned.
He advised the court docket that he concluded Dash’s inventory was undervalued and the corporate was ripe for a merger after studying an April 2018 analyst report that mentioned Dash’s main shareholder SoftBank had lately elevated its stake within the firm by tons of of tens of millions. {dollars}.
Prosecutors say Purchaser realized from a T-Cellular government that the corporate was in merger talks with Dash earlier than he started buying and selling Dash inventory.
The client made greater than $100,000 in Dash offers and greater than $200,000 in shares of Navigant Consulting Inc, which he purchased earlier than the corporate was acquired by Guidehouse in 2019, prosecutors mentioned.
The court docket will resume on Thursday.
