Lazard Banker Among Suspects in German Insider Trading Probe

(Bloomberg) -- A banker at Lazard Ltd.’s Frankfurt office is a suspect in a German criminal probe into alleged insider trading related to company takeovers, according to people familiar with the matter.

The employee is part of the bank’s mergers and acquisitions advisory team with about 30 people and has been suspended from the firm, the people said, asking not to be named because the investigation isn’t public.

Nadja Niesen, a spokeswoman for Frankfurt prosecutors said the office has been investigating an insider trading case related to company acquisitions involving several people since late 2019, but declined to provide details on individuals, companies or deals that are under scrutiny.

“We are cooperating with the German authorities on the matter and we immediately suspended the employee upon learning of the investigation. Lazard has a zero-tolerance approach to any illegal or unethical behavior,” a spokeswoman for Lazard said in an emailed statement.

The New York-based firm specializes in asset management and advising to firms and countries on transactions, such as takeovers. Lazard was the ninth most active M&A adviser globally over the past year, just ahead of rival boutique Centerview Partners LLC, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It advised on about $165 billion of transactions during the period, the data show.

In Germany last year, Lazard advised the supervisory board of lighting specialist Osram AG on the sale of the firm. The company counts among its clients the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen Halbach Foundation, which is the largest shareholder of engineering firm ThyssenKrupp AG.

Lazard is also part of a pool of firms selected to advise the German government on potential investments through its WSF Economic Stability Fund, which was set up to help companies weather the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a European Union procurement document dated June 10.

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