The Italian authorities have put four people under investigation in a market-rigging and insider-trading probe concerning French dairy group Lactalis's bid for Parmalat SpA (PLT.MI), police sources said on Wednesday. Tax police also raided the Italian offices of banks, public relations firms and investment funds as part of the inquiry into Lactalis's stake-building in Parmalat, the country's biggest listed food company, the sources said. The searches included the local offices of French banks Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA) and Societe Generale (SOGN.PA), U.S. investment bank Lazard (LAZ.N), Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) and public relations companies Brunswick and Image Building, the sources said. They said the four people prosecutors have put under investigation include Fabio Cane, head of special projects and private equity at Intesa Sanpaolo's investment bank and his wife Patrizia Micucci, the head of Societe Generale investment banking in Italy. The other two people are an executive at Lazard's and an investment fund employee.
Lazard Limited (Lazard) is a financial advisory and asset management Company. Shares of LAZ fell by 0.55% or $-0.22/share to $39.71. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $25.70 and as high as $46.54. On average, 720531 shares of LAZ exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 83540.
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