Inside traders turn $250,000 profit from Take-Two, EA talks

Perhaps Rockstar should look into a Grand Theft Auto game using Wall Street as the backdrop. The Securities and Exchange Commission is accusing Matthew Devlin, a former Lehman Bros. broker, of insider trading using info he gleaned from his wife Nina, a PR lady. Nina hasn’t been charged. Nina Devlin’s employer, the Brunswick Group, has come to her defense accusing Matthew Devlin of betraying his wife’s trust.

MediaMemo reports on the sordid financial details. According to the SEC, Matthew Devlin got word about Electronic Arts’ potential acquisition of Take-Two Interactive and even tipped off his clients. The SEC estimates the group made around $250,000 off the skyrocketing price of Take-Two’s shares. That was one of 13 deals authorities believe this insider trading ring profited from to the tune of $4.8 million.

Of course, the EA -Take Two deal never took place, so many stock speculators did better on the deal than Take-Two’s investors. EA’s offer was $25.46 a share, which Take-Two leadership told stockholders was a bad deal. Take-Two’s now trading at $7 a share.

Read [MediaMemo] Via [Kotaku]