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SEC Charges Former Oracle Vice President With Illegal Insider Trading in Stocks of Oracle Acquisiton Targets
Washington, D.C. - The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed insider trading charges against a former Oracle Corporation vice president who allegedly traded on confidential information about Oracle acquisition targets gleaned from his spouse, who was also employed by Oracle. The Commission alleges that Christopher Balkenhol, 40, of San Mateo, Calif., learned about secret merger negotiations from his wife, who worked at Oracle as the lead executive assistant to Oracle's CEO and two co-presidents. Without admitting or denying the Commission's allegations, Balkenhol agreed to settle the action against him, paying a total of approximately $198,000—including a penalty of nearly $100,000.
The Commission's complaint, which was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that Balkenhol traded in a series of Oracle acquisition targets during 2004 and 2005. Balkenhol allegedly learned about the planned acquisitions from his wife, who had access to the schedules of Oracle's three top executives and was aware of significant merger-related meetings. The Commission does not allege that Balkenhol's wife knew about Balkenhol's illicit trades. Rather, the complaint alleges that Balkenhol breached a duty not to misuse confidences gleaned from his wife for his own gain.
The complaint alleges that Balkenhol engaged in pattern of insider trading by purchasing stock in Oracle acquisition targets before any public announcement of Oracle's interest. Balkenhol's first profitable trade came on March 1, 2005, when he invested $85,000 in Minneapolis-based Retek Inc. the day after Oracle executives began considering a tender offer for Retek. When Oracle announced the tender offer the following week, Retek's stock price jumped and Balkenhol sold the shares for approximately $15,000 in alleged unlawful profits.
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