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EM.TV faces trading probe
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December 22, 2000: 6:43 a.m. ET
German regulator hits media group with insider trading probe set for next year
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Germany's securities market regulator is set to open a formal insider trading investigation of media company EM.TV & Merchandising AG in coming weeks.
The probe follows an earnings warning from EM.TV on Dec. 1 that sent the Neuer Markt's former high flyer crashing 67 percent over the following 3 days. The company, which owns the Muppets and distribution rights for The Simpsons, has seen its stock lose 95 percent of the value it enjoyed at its peak earlier this year.
"We have completed our analysis and the result, since there might be insider trading, is that we will start a formal investigation early next year or later this year – when our officers return from Christmas," said Christian Pawlik, a spokesman for the Bundesaufsichtsamt fuer Wertpapierhandel, Germany's securities market regulator. 
The first-phase analysis ended late Thursday after an eight-hour visit by officials to EM.TV's offices in Munich, during which the regulator's staff carried out interviews and seized company documents. The Munich prosecutor about three weeks ago it would investigate whether criminal activity had taken place.
"We will fully cooperate with the market regulator, as well as with the Munich prosecutor," Michael Birnbaum, a spokesman for EM.TV, told CNNfn.com. "There is nothing we want to hide."
Shares of EM.TV (AETV) rose 3.5 percent to  6 on the Neuer Markt following the announcement. The stock traded as high as 120 in February.
The company is also facing a shareholder lawsuit that alleges EM.TV repeatedly hid the true state of its financial health.
EM.TV on Dec. 1 slashed its forecast for full-year earnings before interest and tax by more than 90 percent to 50 million marks ($22.7 million), warning it would miss previous revenue targets and see lower profit margins. 
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EM.TV & Merchandising
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