DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) - German prosecutors are investigating the supervisory board chairman of retailer Metro (DE:B4B) on suspicion of insider trading before the group's announcement last year that it would split in two, the company said on Friday.
Police and prosecutors searched Metro's (DE:B4B) offices in the western German city of Duesseldorf on Friday, the spokesman said, adding the group was cooperating with the authorities.
Metro announced on March 30, 2016 that it planned to separate its wholesale and food business from its consumer electronics chain to help each focus and grow faster, sending its stock 12 percent higher.
Financial watchdog Bafin said it had filed charges of insider trading and stock market manipulation with the Duesseldorf prosecutor's office in connection with the announcement, but did not name any suspects.
German weekly Spiegel reported earlier that Metro Chairman Juergen Steinemann and a management board member, whom it did not name, bought shares in the company before demerger plans became public.
A regulatory filing shows that Steinemann bought 43,000 shares in Metro on Feb. 22, 2016, worth just over 1 million euros (£889,527) at the time.
Metro said that no insider information was available when Steinemann and the unnamed executive bought shares.
It also said that it published its proposal to split in a timely fashion, in accordance with German rules. The consumer electronics business is now listed on the stock exchange under the name Ceconomy (DE:CECG).
The prosecutor's office said it would issue a statement on the matter on Monday and could not comment before then.