Assets Frozen Of 3 Firms Accused Of Inside Trades

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WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal judge has frozen assets of three Swiss-based investment firms accused of profiting from trades based on inside information about a Swiss company's planned acquisition of a U.S. maker of antibacterial products.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused the investment firms of making millions of dollars in trades on confidential information that Lonza Group planned to acquire Arch Chemicals Inc. for $1.2 billion. The trades were allegedly made ahead of the July 11 announcement of the deal.

Lonza is a Swiss specialty chemicals and biotechnology company. The acquisition will boost its standing in the market for antibacterial products, which is growing steadily and is worth about $10 billion a year, experts say.

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