9th Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Intelsat Insider Trading Suit

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court's dismissal of a proposed class action suit that alleged Intelsat's then-chairman and two investor groups participated in insider trading (see 2304270005). In a docket 23-15822 order Wednesday, the appellate court said plaintiff Walleye hedge funds didn't adequately prove that David McGlade, Silver Lake Group and BC Partners possessed material nonpublic information. The three-judge panel said the Walleye funds also didn't adequately plead that Silver Lake and BC knew about Intelsat meeting with the FCC in November 2019 regarding the pending C-band clearing before the two funds sold big blocks of Intelsat shares. Walleye alleged the funds knew the FCC was leaning toward a public auction of the spectrum, and the FCC's subsequent announcement resulted in a big drop in Intelsat's stock price. Deciding were Judges Milan Smith, Andrew Hurwitz and Anthony Johnstone, with Smith penning the order.