A former board member at Mariner Energy and his son pleaded guilty on Friday to illegally trading the company's stock ahead of its 2010 purchase by oil and gas company Apache Corp (APA.N). H. Clayton Peterson, 65, who was a Mariner director at the time of the deal, and his son Drew Peterson, 35, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to two counts each of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and securities fraud. The Securities and Exchange Commission also on Friday sued the two men, alleging the son made $5.2 million in ill-gotten gains for himself and those on whose behalf he traded. The purchase of Mariner by Apache Corp was publicly announced on April 15, 2010.
Apache Corporation (Apache) is an independent energy company, which explores for, develops and produces natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquids. Shares of APA fell by 1.11% or $-1.21/share to $107.97. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $85.35 and as high as $134.13. On average, 2635180 shares of APA exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 3539660.
