A jury has acquitted Vaughan Bowen, the former chair of telecommunications company Vocus, of two insider trading charges more than three years after he was initially charged.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) alleged that Bowen sold more than 5.5 million Vocus shares on 4 June 2019, while aware of inside information about the withdrawal of a $3.3 billion takeover bid by EQT Infrastructure IV Fund, intending to avoid a loss when the share price dropped after the news was announced.
During a five-week trial in Melbourne County Court, ASIC claimed Bowen sold the shares one day before the Swedish investment firm decided to abandon its bid for Vocus. The company was later acquired by Macquarie (ASX: MQG) in 2021 for $3.5 billion.
The trades were valued at approximately $26 million, making the case one of the highest-value insider trading prosecutions in Australian corporate history. In order to have been found guilty, 12 jurors would have needed to be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that Bowen was guilty.
Bowen is the founder of M2 Telecommunications, which merged with Vocus in February 2016. Following the consolidation, Bowen was chairman at Vocus for two years. He is now a principal at the Bowen Family Office and non-executive chairman at Sydney-based Voyager Tennis.
The case was prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions after being referred by ASIC.
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