The former director of Lion Selection Ltd (Lion), Mr John Francis O’Reilly of Twickenham London, today pleaded guilty to one charge of insider trading in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court following an investigation by ASIC.

The charge relates to an order Mr O’Reilly placed with his broker on 8 May 2008 to purchase 50,000 shares in copper and gold exploration company Indophil Resources NL (Indophil).

At the time, Lion held a stake in Indophil. ASIC alleged that as a director of Lion, Mr O’Reilly possessed information regarding a proposal by Xstrata to purchase Indophil shares held by Lion and make a takeover offer for Indophil. Xstrata subsequently announced an all-cash offer for all Indophil shares on 15 May 2008.

Further details are available online.