SEC files insider-trading case over option buys (Reuters)

By Martha Graybow 11 minutes ago NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. regulators filed insider trading charges on Friday against unknown individuals accused of making suspiciously well-timed purchases of call options in two companies before they announced multibillion-dollar mergers. The case was brought in U.S. District Court in New York against "one or more unknown purchasers" of call option contracts to buy shares of defense company DRS Technologies Inc (DRS.N) and American Power Conversion Corp, a power and cooling services company. DRS is in a pending deal to be acquired by Italy's Finmeccanica SpA (SIFI.MI), for $3.94 billion, while American Power was bought by French engineering group Schneider Electric SA for $6.1 billion last year. Through an account at UBS AG (UBSN.VX) in Zurich, the purchasers made "well-timed purchases" of... [read full story]