The Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against Denise Grevas of Evanston, Illinois for insider trading in the stock of Alder BioPharmaceuticals, Inc. in advance of a September 2019 announcement by H. Lundbeck A/S that it would acquire Alder through a tender offer.

The SEC's complaint alleges that Grevas learned material, non-public information about the planned tender offer during a telephone call with her spouse, who was a member of Lundbeck's due diligence team for the Alder tender offer, in August 2019. According to the complaint, after the call, and unbeknownst to her spouse, Grevas purchased 30,800 shares of Alder stock in five brokerage accounts under her control, trading nearly every trading day until Lundbeck's announcement. According to the SEC's complaint, after Lundbeck announced the tender offer on September 16, 2019, Alder's share price increased 84% from its prior day's closing price, and Grevas obtained gains of $286,960.

The SEC's complaint, filed in federal court in Illinois, charges Grevas with violating the antifraud provisions of Sections 10(b) and 14(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5 and 14e-3 thereunder. Grevas has agreed to be permanently enjoined from violations of these provisions, and to pay a civil penalty in an amount to be determined by the court at a later date. This settlement is subject to Court approval.

In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced criminal charges against Grevas.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by Richard G. Stoltz and Rebecca Hollenbeck and supervised by Anne C. McKinley and Daniel J. Hayes of the Chicago Regional Office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.