Lambert Settlement – Part 1

Insider Trading in the Context of M&A Activity Part 1: A Cautionary Tale

A recent settlement agreement between Anthony Lambert ("Lambert") and the Alberta Securities Commission ("ASC") presents a cautionary tale for directors and officers of public companies who are considering trading in securities during the early stages of M&A activity. We'll discuss some of the key takeaways from this cautionary tale in our next post, but for now, here's an overview of the Lambert settlement.

In the settlement agreement, the ASC alleged that Lambert, then President and CEO of Daylight Energy Ltd. ("Daylight"), breached Alberta's securities laws and acted contrary to the public interest by purchasing Daylight's securities with knowledge of an undisclosed material fact – that Daylight had received an unsolicited expression of interest from Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corporation ("SIPC") that discussed the possibility of "a major strategic