NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday obtained an asset freeze in connection with suspected fraudulent trading in Anadarko Petroleum Corp (NYSE:APC) before the oil company agreed to be acquired by rival Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX)
U.S. District Judge Gregory Woods in Manhattan granted the freeze over accounts linked to suspicious purchases by unknown purchasers of Anadarko securities between Feb. 8 and April 1, 2019, according to a court filing.
Chevron announced on April 12 it would buy Anadarko for about $33 billion. Another oil company, Occidental Petroleum Corp (NYSE:OXY), launched an unsolicited $38 billion bid for Anadarko on April 24.