US: ValueAct to pay record $11m to settle antitrust lawsuit

ValueAct Capital, which manages some $16 billion in assets, has agreed to pay $11 million to settle allegations that it bought large amounts of stock without notifying US authorities, the Justice Department said on Tuesday.

The department sued ValueAct in April after it learned that the activist investment fund purchased more than $2.5 billion of shares in Baker Hughes Inc and Halliburton Co, after the companies announced they would merge, without reporting the purchases to US antitrust authorities.

The Justice Department said the $11 million fine was a record for failing to report a stock purchase. The highest previous fine was $5.67 million, the department said.

The department said ValueAct had purchased the shares as a passive investment and then interceded in the merger review.

“ValueAct was not entitled to avoid the HSR requirements by claiming to be a passive investor, while at the same time injecting itself in this manner,” said Renata Hesse, who runs the Justice Department’s antitrust division.

Full Content: The Wall Street Journal

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