Financial Times- France’s financial watchdog has fined Deutsche Bank and four hedge funds a total of €6.25m after an insider trading probe in relation to a bond issue by Vivendi, the French media andtelecoms group. The Autorité des Marchés Financiers also investigated Vivendi over the affair but said on Thursday that it could find no evidence against the company.

Vivendi issued convertible bonds worth €1bn in November 2002, part of moves to repair the company’s balance sheet.

It was alleged that Deutsche Bank, which handled the bond issue, had improperly passed on information about the issue to the hedge funds – Ferox Capital Management, Meditor Capital Management, UBS O’Connor and GLG Partners – and that the funds had subsequently used this information to trade in Vivendi shares.

The AMF found that the funds’ actions had “procured them an unjustifiable advantage and distorted the functioning of the market”.

It fined Deutsche Bank €750,000; Meditor, UBS O’Connor and GLG €1.5m each; and Ferox €1m.

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