Lotus share deals investigated

Lotus share deals investigated

The Securities Exchange Commission has launched an inquiry into dealings that took place in shares of Lotus Development ahead of IBM's $3.3bn takeover bid on Monday. It is focusing on a surge in trading in both ordinary shares and options three days before the IBM offer was made public. IBM had been in talks with Lotus on possible transactions for over five months. Lotus stock rose $3.25 last Friday to $32.50 with 3.8 million shares changing hands, almost twice the average daily volume. The shares soared to $61.44 after the bid was announced.