A former executive at an e-commerce company that was acquired in 2011 by online retailer eBay Inc pleaded guilty on Friday to insider trading in connection with the takeover. Christopher Saridakis, 45, who had led the marketing solutions division of GSI Commerce Inc, pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud for leaking material nonpublic information in March 2011 about the planned merger.The defendant entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Stewart Dalzell in Philadelphia, and was released on $300,000 bail, court records show. Saridakis faces a maximum 20 years in prison at his sentencing, which is scheduled for Sept. 19."Mr. Saridakis has pleaded guilty and accepted responsibility," said his lawyer, Richard Zack, a partner at Pepper Hamilton. "He has done everything he can to make things right, and he regrets the pain that his conduct has caused his family and friends."GSI shares rose nearly 51 percent on March 28, 2011, after eBay announced its $1.96 billion purchase of the King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based company.
eBay Inc., is a global technology company. The Company enables commerce through three reportable segments: Marketplaces, Payments, and GSI. Shares of EBAY traded higher by 0.55% or $0.276/share to $50.54. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $48.06 and as high as $59.70. On average, 11569200 shares of EBAY exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 14179421.
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