The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Kevin Crotty, a Chicago-area resident, with insider trading ahead of a Feb. 16, 2023, announcement that bp had agreed to acquire TravelCenters of America Inc.
This is the second case of insider trading the SEC has brought in connection with bp’s acquisition of TravelCenters of America. It charged Tyler Loudon, the spouse of a bp executive, with insider trading ahead of the acquisition.
According to the SEC’s complaint, Crotty misappropriated material, nonpublic information from a BP colleague who was working on the acquisition. The SEC alleges that after learning that it was highly likely that the deal would close, Crotty purchased 848.824 shares of TravelCenters of America stock on Feb. 15, 2023. The following day, the companies announced the acquisition, which triggered a 70.8% increase in TravelCenters of America share price and generated an unrealized gain of $30,667 for Crotty.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, charges Crotty with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5. Crotty has agreed to settle the SEC’s charges, and the settlement is subject to the court’s approval. Without denying the allegations in the SEC’s complaint, Crotty has agreed to consent to the entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining him from future violations, imposing an officer and director bar, and ordering him to pay disgorgement of $30,667, prejudgment interest of $1,274.50, and a civil penalty of $30,667.
In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois filed criminal charges against Crotty.
“bp’s code of conduct and relevant policies and procedures prohibit insider trading and hold everyone at the company responsible for protecting bp assets and information. We take this policy very seriously, and make it clear that individuals possessing sensitive information have heightened responsibilities to limit disclosures," the company said in a statement provided to CSP.
- bp is No. 7 on CSP’s 2024 Top 40 Update to the 2023 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count. Watch for the full 2024 Top 202 ranking in the June issue of CSP magazine and in CSP Daily News.
BP Products North America Inc., Chicago, completed the $1.3 billion acquisition of TravelCenters of America Inc. in May 2023. London-based bp also owns convenience-store brands ampm and Thorntons.
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